Yes, Debbie, Philip Mak, has indeed passed away.
Sachi, extremely close friend of Debbie was in attendance of his funeral. She called me last night to talk about the experience and shared a few fond memories with me to ease her pain.
Speculation is bound to be heavy considering Anima's past, but as far as I'm concerned, and the fact that I'm still close to many of the Anima GM's, and have bore witness to their immense suffering and pain this past week, I truthfully believe that Philip has passed away.
Those who knew him personally, or had the opportunity to talk to him about his life outside of RO know that he very rarely took good care of himself. He rarely slept, always devoted himself to the server which he worked so hard to build. Quite literally, Philip worked himself to death.
Everyone thinks I hated him, but truth be told, he helped me immensely through advice and sharing his knowledge with me about the world. We ended on terrible terms, but evenso, I too am sorry to hear that he has passed away.
I know a lot of people hated him, and even I've said my fair share of horrible things about him myself, but have some respect, please. Thanks.