PHILIPPINES
Manila Times-May 10
After being called a strongman, President Rodrigo Duterte was included in the list of the most powerful people in the world by Forbes magazine, which cited his tough stance on illegal drugs and his “raw and vulgar” rhetoric.
The Philippine leader ranked 69th among 75 people on the list. On its website, Forbes said the list selected one person out of every 100 million “whose actions mean the most.”
Forbes cited Duterte’s war on drugs that “has already resulted in the killing of thousands of people across the archipelago country” in its brief profile of the Philippine leader.
“Duterte’s raw and vulgar vocabulary keeps him in the headlines: He called (then US president Barrack) Obama ‘son of a whore’ and has used homophobic slurs to describe opponents,” Forbes said.
In Malacañang, Palace spokesman Harry Roque welcomed Duterte’s inclusion in the list but reiterated the President’s statement that “the true source of power is the people.”
“The Presidency, in the mind of PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte], begins and ends with public trust where real power emanates,” Roque said in a statement. “As Chief Executive for almost two years, he has faithfully served our people by promoting the interests of the Filipino people and the Filipino nation first. The anti-drug war, the pursuit of an independent foreign policy, the pro-poor policies and programs of the Duterte administration among others are reflective of the current government’s advancing the welfare of the greatest number of our countrymen,” he added.
This is the second time the Philippine president made it to the list. Duterte ranked 70th in 2017.
On the top of the list is Duterte’s ally, Chinese President Xi Jinping, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Putin and Duterte were on the cover of TIME magazine as strongmen.
The magazine noted that Xi broke Putin’s streak on the list after being featured in the top spot for four consecutive years.
Completing the Top 10 of the most powerful people are Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, Pope Francis, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Google co-founder Larry Page.
Forbes said in coming up with the list and ranking, “we considered hundreds of candidates from various walks of life all around the globe, and measured their power along four dimensions.”
A panel of editors from Forbes ranks the candidates and scores are averaged into the individual rankings. “This year’s list comes at a time of rapid and profound change, and represents our best guess about who will matter in the year to come,” Forbes said.
