Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III has brushed off the supposed 'crisis" in his leadership in the upper chamber by pointing out that practically every major branch of government is "under fire".

Sotto had this to say in a DWIZ interview Saturday, Oct. 11 when he was asked if he felt that the crisis in the Senate was now over.

There had been rumors that his senator-colleagues were out to replace him, after he himself had yet to warm the seat that he took over from former Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero only last Sept. 8.

"Mahirap naman talaga maging Senate President kahit na hindi ganito pinagdaraan. So extra stress and pressure. Pero importante, basta lumakad ka nang matuwid, siguro naman mairaraos namin," Sotto said.

(Being the Senate President is truly hard even if the situation isn't like this. It's extra stress and pressure. What's important is to remember that for as long as you walk the straight path, you'll get through it.)

"Tingin ko naman na maayos na naman na yan (crisis). Importante kasi yung overall, aside from the Senate itself, sapagkat merong namang mga kasamang under fire," he added.

(I think it has died down. The important thing is that overall, aside from the Senate itself, there are others that are under fire.)

Sotto continued: "Meron din sa Congress ng mga under fire. Sa executive department, lalo na sa DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) (There are also people under fire in Congress. Also in the executive department, especially from the DPWH.)

While he didn't spell it out, much of the current public anger toward government officials was triggered by the flood control projects corruption scandal. The Senate had tried to do its part to get to the bottom of the issue with the investigations of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Sotto reckoned that once the culprits get identified and jailed, Filipinos' outrage on the matter will begin to wane.

"So ang tingin ko, kapag ito ay kumilos na ang Ombudsman, ang Department of Justice, tapos lumabas yung mga imbestigasyon ng ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure), palagay ko overall huhupa na yan. At ika nga makikita na ng mga kababayan natin na may mangyayari at makukulong yung mga dapat makulong at managot yung mga dapat managot," he said.

(So I think, once the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice take action, and the investigations from the ICI come out, overall things will settle down. As they say, our fellow citizens will see that something will happen, that those who should be jailed will be jailed, and those who should be held accountable will be held accountable.)