Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III gave his two cents about being a public servant.

In an interview on DWIZ on Saturday, Oct. 18, Sotto said that being a public servant entails sacrifice, as he discussed the disclosure of senators' statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).

He stated that his SALN underwent a major change since he came back as a senator this year.

According to him, he earned more as a television producer while he was not in government.

When asked if giving up the more lucrative job was part of the sacrifice of serving the public, he said: "Ganun talaga (That's the reality)."

"Ibig sabihin huwag ka maghahangad na yayaman ka. Dahil kung maghahangad ka na yayaman ka, malamang pumatol ka dun sa mga ilegal (It means you shouldn’t desire to become rich. Because if you do, there’s a good chance you’ll end up getting involved in something illegal)," Sotto said.

"Pag pumatol ka sa ilegal eh naloko na. Sino agrabiyado roon edi taumbayan ang agrabiyado (If you get involved in something illegal, then you’re in trouble. And who ends up being the victim? It’s the people—the public—who are the ones aggrieved)," he added.

Sotto says that he has already spoken with senator-colleagues regarding public disclosure of their SALNs; so far, everyone has agreed to it.

"Karamihan nakausap ko na doon sa aming chat group at okay naman, lahat naman payag (I’ve already talked to most of them in our chat group, and it’s all good, everyone agreed)," he said.

One of the first things newly-installed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla looked into when he assumed office was to reopen the public’s access to SALNs.

He then called on different government agencies that keep official copies of SALNs -- such as the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Office of the President, Congress, the Judiciary, and local government units (LGUs) -- to align their practices with the policy of transparency.