President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he will continue to consult with former President Fidel Ramos despite his resignation as his special envoy to China .

But at the same time, Duterte said while he takes Ramos' advice, he has his "own way of assessing it."

"I had a copy of his resignation. First I'd like to thank him for helping me and being of the service to the nation even at his age," he said.

Duterte tapped Ramos as his special envoy to China shortly after the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines on its territorial dispute against China .

But recently Ramos criticized Duterte on his stance against the United States and his continued refusal to honor the Paris Agreement, which his predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino III, approved in December 2015.

Asked if he would still consult with Ramos in the future, Duterte said, "Yes, of course, if he cares to listen. It doesn't mean that because he already resigned as special envoy, I could no longer ask him."

Duterte has been criticizing the US after it raised concern on the increasing number of slain drug suspects amid his administration's war against the drug menace.

The president reiterated that he would not stop in his campaign against illegal drugs until the end of his term.

In the case of the Paris Agreement, he said he would wait for the recommendation of Environment Secretary Gina Lopez and after a legal review.

"There might be some progressive clauses there that we do not know that after a few years, it's like this,” said Duterte.

“I have invited a lot of investors to the country. I will build industrial estates and there will be a lot of smoke and pollution, of course. I want to know if there will be a leeway, an elbow room to move because the treaty now that is being signed or passed around for signing is binding.”

"So I have to study the matter very carefully...It doesn’t mean to say that I do not want typhoons and storms to come to planet earth everyday," he stressed. Celerina Monte/DMS