MANILA: A Philippine court has issued an arrest warrant on drug charges for a senator and former top human rights official who is one of the most vocal critics of President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs.
The Regional Trial Court issued the warrant Thursday for the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima and other officials who have been charged by Department of Justice prosecutors with receiving bribes from detained drug lords.
De Lima has vehemently denied the charges, which she says are part of Duterte's attempt to intimidate critics of his crackdown, which has left more than 7,000 drug suspects dead.
It was not immediately clear when de Lima would be arrested or how her followers would react.