FVR answers call, is going to China

DAVAO CITY—Former President Fidel V. Ramos said on Saturday he had accepted President Duterte’s offer to be the Philippines’ special envoy to China.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Mr. Duterte at the Marco Polo Hotel here, the 88-year-old Ramos said his doctors had given him the green light to take the job.

“I have been cleared by my doctors at Makati Medical Center,” said Ramos, who revealed that he suffered from three serious ailments—including one that impaired the flow of blood to the brain.

But he said he was now well, and even jumped in the air to drive his point.

The former president, who wears a pacemaker, also gripped this reporter’s hand to demonstrate his strength.

The meeting took place a few days after Mr. Duterte announced he would appoint Ramos as special  envoy to China, an offer the former president appeared hesitant to take at first, citing his advanced age.

Ramos said the job entailed more than just talking to the Chinese leaders, in the wake of The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling junking China’s claims in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

He, however, did not elaborate and stressed that the issues would be tackled in his meetings with senior Duterte officials.

“I said before that there should already be a National Security Council meeting,” he said.

The council is to be convened on July 27, two days after the President’s State of the Nation Address on Monday.

Other officials present at the meeting were Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon  and former  Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Paul Dominguez.