Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)

Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun has welcomed former president Rodrigo Duterte's willingness to assume full responsibility for the thousands of deaths that took place during his administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign.

Khonghun had this to say as even as Duterte appeared to accept his fate of facing trial for the charge of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands.

“If he is willing to take the responsibility sa nangyayari doon, mas maganda (If he is willing to take the responsibility for what happened there, the better)," the House assistance majority leader said.

"Ibig sabihin siya mismo rin sa kanyang sarili na nalaman niya na kung sino talaga ‘yung responsable, lalo na ‘yung mga nangyaring pagpatay noong panahon ng kanyang rehimen (This means that he himself knows who truly are responsible, especially for the killings that took place during his regime)," Khonghun, chairman of the House Special Committee on Bases Conversion, said.

However, the legislator from Luzon says that "guilt is personal."

"Dapat lang naman talaga na sagutin, harapin at bigyan ng katarungan ‘yung mga nangyari noong panahon na siya ay naging presidente (It's only proper that they answer it, face it, and give justice to the events that happened when he became president.),” he said 

The ICC has been looking into Duterte's bloody campaign against illegal drugs since 2017. Members of the International Police (Interpol) served an arrest warrant against Duterte in Manila on Tuesday. 

The ex-leader was flown out of the country that same evening.