De Lima dares Duterte: Arrest me now

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila de Lima on Wednesday stressed that she will not back down from President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been accusing her of being involved in the illegal drug trade while she was Justice secretary.

Earlier this week, Duterte said that he is sure that De Lima will go to jail because of the testimonies of New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates accusing her of receiving money from drug lords. Formal charges have yet to be filed, although the allegations were made during televised congressional hearings at the House of Representatives.

Duterte and his allies, including House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, have also been referring to a supposed sex video that allegedly shows De Lima in bed with her former driver Ronnie Dayan. Alvarez has said he will allow members of the House Justice committee to view the alleged video, supposedly to confirm whether De Lima had a relationship with Dayan, who has also been accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prisons.

READ: Rody: De Lima will be jailed

The senator appealed to the Duterte administration on Wednesday to "stop this madness" as she already feels helpless.

"Tama na. Hulihin n'yo na ako ngayon kung 'yan naman talaga ang gusto n'yo. Ikulong n'yo na ako ngayon. I'm here. Do what you want to do to me, Mr. President. I'll wait for you," Duterte said, addressing the president in a televised press briefing.

De Lima insisted that she will stay in the Philippines despite the advice of some of her friends to seek asylum outside the country.

"Why should I do that? I want to fight here in my country. Hindi po ako duwag dahil wala po akong kasalanan," the senator said.

"Duwag ang umaatras, hindi po si Leila de lima. Hindi po ako pinalaki ng tatay ko na maging duwag," De Lima added.

The former Justice secretary said that the stabbing incident at Building 14 of the NBP is an attempt of the administration to pin her down.

"We just saw a news item quoting [House] Speaker [Pantaleon] Alvarez saying that somebody must be out to silence [Jaybee] Sebastian. Ano na naman ang mga implication nila? Kagagawan ko na naman yan? Sila ang nanggigipit sa akin. Masyado na nila akong ginigipit, inaapi," the senator said.

De Lima called her critics "cowards, fools and liars" for staging a supposed riot inside the prison, which left one inmate dead and three others injured.

READ: De Lima casts doubt on Bilibid riot | Bilibid riot: Jaybee Sebastian, 2 high-profile inmates hurt; 1 dead

The senator argued that Building 14 of the NBP is supposed to be the most guarded facility in the country given that police Special Action Force troopers are deployed at the penitentiary.

"In your desperation, pangulo, para siraan n'yo ako hindi n'yo na iniisip kung ano na 'yung nagiging itsura ninyo sa mata ng bayan at saka mundo. Kayo na po ang pinagtatawanan, hindi po ako. Inosente po ako," De Lima said.

De Lima released text messages from a reliable source claiming that NBP inmate Jaybee Sebastian is being forced to testify against her.

The senator said that she will reveal who her source is in the proper venue.

RELATED: Alvarez on Bilibid riot: Some may not want Jaybee Sebastian to testify