A female lawmaker was on Friday arrested by Philippine police for being involved in drug trading.

A court on Thursday ordered Senator Leila De Lima, 57, to be arrested on drug related charges filed by the Department of Justice, media reported.

She had been abetting illegal drug trade when she was Justice Secretary from 2010 to 2015.

De Lima, who spent the night at her office at the Philippine Senate, did not resist arrest.

Her lawyers were questioning the arrest order, saying it was highly irregular.

"I am innocent," she told the media while being accosted out of the Senate premises.

De Lima said she was arrested on trumped-up charges.