Talk about a debut unlike any other — President Rodrigo Duterte was named on Forbes’ eighth annual list of the most powerful people in the world.
Duterte was ranked 70th on the Forbes list, based on the following criteria: how many people they have power over; the financial resources they control; if they have influence in more than one sphere; and how actively they wield their power to change the world.
Vladimir Putin retained the top spot this year, while US President-elect Donald Trump leaped to number 2 from last year’s 72. Meanwhile, outgoing President Barack Obama slipped to number 48 from number 3, as he is leaving the White House at the start of 2017.
Forbes magazine noted that Duterte’s electoral campaign was hinged on drug elimination in the country by executing drug pushers. Now, the president is “realigning a century-long strategic alliance with the U.S. towards China and whose voice is increasingly heard far outside of Asia.”
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