Manila, Feb. 6 -- Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Friday said recent talk of Senate leadership unrest stemmed from disputes over committee assignments, heated debates on China and the circulation of an unofficial draft committee report, rather than dissatisfaction with the Senate presidency itself.

In a virtual briefing, Sotto said the real issues raised by some senators centered on committee control, noting that leadership speculation intensified following the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

"Alam naman namin ang problema na gusto nila ay hindi lang naman ang Senate President eh. Gusto nila 'yung mga committees eh. 'Yun ang main (We know that the problem they want addressed is not real...