Duterte makes it to Forbes’ ‘World’s Most Powerful People’

May 9, 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte is Forbes' list of "World's Most Powerful People" for 2018.

Duterte ranked 69th, one notch higher from last year's, among 75 individuals included in the list.

Forbes said Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in 2016 "on the strength of a campaign that promised execution of drug dealers and other criminals."

"So far his war on crime has resulted in the killing of thousands of people across the archipelago country. Duterte's raw and vulgar vocabulary keeps him in the headlines: he called Obama 'son of a whore' and has used homophobic slurs to describe opponents," it added.

Malacanang shrugged off Duterte's inclusion in the Forbes' list.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte has many times acknowledged the true source of power is the people.

"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," he said.

He said programs and policies of the Duterte administration, including the war on drugs, are all for the welfare of the Filipinos.

"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. The presidency, in the mind of PRRD (Duterte), begins and ends with public trust where real power emanates," Roque said.

Topping the Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people was Chinese President Xi Jinping. He unseated Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been on the top list for the past four consecutive years.

The other Southeast Asian leaders who made it to the list were Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, ranked 61st, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, ranked 74th.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ranked 38th in the list. Celerina Monte/DMS