"Karangalan ko po na ako ay makulong dahil sa mga pinaglalaban ko po."

(It is my honor that I will be imprisoned for the things I am fighting for.)

With these words, Senator Leila de Lima stepped out of her office Friday morning to face arrest on a drug charge filed by the justice department.

In her statement, De Lima again denied allegations that she has links to a drug ring inside New Bilibid Prison and had coddled drug lords.

"Inosente po ako. Wala pong katotohanan, pawang kasinungalingan po ang mga pinaparatang nila sakin na ako'y di umano nakinabang sa droga... Lalabas po ang katotohanan sa tamang panahon," De Lima said.

She also vowed to continue speaking out against thousands of killings committed in the name of the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

Video taken by ABS-CBN News showed De Lima boarding a van after delivering her statement.

A Muntinlupa judge on Thursday issued a warrant for De Lima's arrest in connection with one of three drug cases filed against the senator.

More than 7,700 people have been killed in the narcotics crackdown since President Rodrigo Duterte took office on June 30, about 2,500 in police operations, while the rest are being investigated.

Human rights groups believe many other deaths that police attributed to vigilantes were carried out by assassins likely colluding with police. The government and police vehemently deny extrajudicial killings have taken place. With Reuters