Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos passed away at the age of 94 on Sunday. The Ramos family confirmed the passing of the former president on Sunday night but gave no further details.

After a weekend of rumours, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday confirmed that his predecessor Fidel V Ramos had resigned as special envoy to China. Taken alone, Ramos’s move is a small matter, but understood as part of an unmistakable pattern of calibrated disavowals of Duterte’s policy, the resignation is a matter of serious concern.