Duterte on Forbes’ most powerful list
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has been included in Forbes Magazine’s Most Powerful People of 2018.
Duterte ranked 69th of the 75 leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs in the international business magazine’s roster of who it deems the most powerful people worldwide. In 2016, he placed 70th.
The entry about Duterte took note of his rise to power on the back of his campaign that promised to eradicate street crimes and the drug trade.
“So far, his war on crime has already resulted in the killing of thousands of people across the archipelago country,” Forbes said.
It also cited the chief executive’s “raw and vulgar vocabulary.”
“He called Obama ‘son of a whore’ and has used homophobic slurs to describe opponents,” Forbes said.
His inclusion on Forbes’ list came days after he was named as of one of the strongmen in TIME magazine’s cover story. He, however, denied that he is a leader who rules with force.
In several speeches, Duterte allayed fears that he would become a dictator. But there were also instances when he defended his brand of leadership, stressing that there would be no progress if he did not act like one.
Duterte’s ally, Chinese President Xi Jinping, seized the top spot in the 2018 ranking. He replaced Russian President Vladimir Putin, who held the title for four consecutive years.
United States President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel placed third and fourth, respectively.
The top 10 World's Most Powerful People are: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Pope Francis, Bill Gates, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and Google's Larry Page.
Forbes said the factors taken into account to select the world’s most powerful people were: the number of people they influence, the financial resources they control, spheres of influence and the individuals’ active use of their power.