The netizen who was sued by a lawyer over his derogatory comment on Facebook is now willing to offer an olive branch to put the matter behind them and put the issue to rest.
Anrey Jay Nebres, the subject of the online libel case filed by lawyer Vincent Isles, said he did not expect his comment to get out of hand to the point that it would reach national news.
In a phone interview with Cebu Daily News, Nebres said he was merely stating a personal thought when he made the comment but did not mean any harm by it or to to threaten Isles.
Nebres, a taxi driver and a father of five, lamented that because of the news about Isles’ suit, he had gained unwanted attention in his community.
According to Nebres, he is willing to apologize to Isles over his comment and had even personally reached out to the lawyer.
“Kung na offend siya sa akong message, mangayo ko ug sorry, deeply sa akong kasing-kasing, mangayo ko ug sorry,” he said.
(If he was offended by my message, I am sorry. I am extending my heartfelt apology.)
He also stressed that he had nothing to do with the man who allegedly accosted Isles and threatened the lawyer over the latter’s alleged critical posts regarding President Rodrigo Duterte.
Nebres explained that he is from Davao City and that he was not aware about the incident, which occurred in Cebu City, when he made the comment.
Meanwhile, Isles said that although he was not closing his door to settling the matter, he pointed out that the complaint is now with the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor.
“Ultimately, it is not up to me to decide whether to bring it to court or not” he said. “It is with the prosecutor’s office. I just reported to the prosecutor’s office that I was libeled, in my opinion.”
According to Isles, if Nebres was really sincere in his intention to apologize, he should clarify what he meant and that it should be done in a notarized document.
He added whatever might be the outcome of his complaint, it sent the message that anyone should be responsible and could be held liable for whatever they posted online.
Isles likewise clarified that he is not an anti-Duterte lawyer but just happened to disagree with some of President’s stand on certain issues.
“He is a good man personally,” Isles said. “I like him as a person but what I hate about him is his sexism, his support for the lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility, his support for death penalty, ug kanang wala niya’y pagsaway sa nahitabo nga (he did not try to stop) extrajudicial summary killings. It’s the ideas associated with him that I hate. I am not anti-Duterte. I am “anti” some of his ideas.”