PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will give the final say whether former President Fidel Ramos will remain the country's special envoy to China.
In a text message sent to reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Ramos already submitted his resignation letter to the Office of the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
"According to FVR (Ramos), the letter has been submitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary, but it will be up to PRRD (Duterte), whether to accept it or not," Abella said.
Ramos announced Monday, October 31, that he resigned as the Philippines' special envoy to settle the disputes on the West Philippine Sea with Chinese officials since his role had already been "taken over" when the President went to China.
"The moment the President came back from China from a successful visit, I resigned as special envoy to China because the officials have taken over," Ramos said.
In a separate text message, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar reiterated that Ramos' presence was "invaluable."
Andanar said Ramos was appointed because of his "stature, credibility as elderly statesman, and ability to break the ice with the Chinese government."
"[Ramos] was instrumental in softening of ties between our government and [China], which led to the very successful recent state visit of PRRD (Duterte) in Beijing," he said.
Following the favorable international court's ruling to the Philippines in July, Duterte assigned Ramos to represent the country in addressing the maritime dispute.
Recently, Ramos has been vocal in criticizing the President's moves in addressing its political problems and continuous refusal to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change which seeks to lower climate-warming emissions and his opposition to Duterte's "separation"and repeated tirades against the United States amid an apparent tilt toward China.
But, Ramos said the administration should take his criticisms as "brotherly advice" which the latter has deeply appreciated. (With Juliet C. Revita/Sunnex)