Philippine President Beats the Pope in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

April 17, 2017

The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has made his way to the top of Time magazine’s readers’ poll of the 100 most influential people in the world, beating out the Pope.

Duterte, who once told President Barack Obama to “go to hell” and claimed to have thrown someone off a helicopter, has gained 5% of the final “yes” votes in the annual poll, which closed on Easter Sunday.

The 72-year-old leader declared a war on drugs that has left more than 8,000 people in the Philippines dead since he has taken office in June 2016, according to Time.

His controversial anti-drug crusade has received heavy criticism from human rights activists and politicians, including the Philippines’ own Vice President Leni Robredo.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg followed close behind Duterte in the Time 100 survey, all with 3% of the total votes.

Senator Bernie Sanders won the reader poll in 2016, and Russian President Vladimir Putin took the top spot in 2015, according to the magazine.

The official Time 100 list, which features a wide range of top artists, politicians, lawmakers, scientists, and tech and business disruptors, is compiled by the magazine’s editors and will be announced on April 20.

In December 2016, Duterte was also named one of the Most Powerful People in Forbes Magazine, landing at number 70, according to the Philippine Star.

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