Duterte Tops TIME 100 Readers' Poll

Controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte topped the TIME readers' poll for who should be included in the magazine's prestigious "most influential" 2017 list. The colorful Filipino statesman also landed on the Most Powerful People list for Forbes magazine late last year.

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Duterte logged five percent of the total "Yes" votes. He topped Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. TIME stated that the official list, which will be revealed on April 20, is chosen by editors of the magazine. Former U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders won the poll in 2016 while another controversial figure, Russian President Vladimir Putin, took the top spot the previous year.

Duterte has been aggressive in his stance on the war on drugs, which is reportedly responsible for claiming the lives of more than 8,000 people in the Philippines. The proposed unconventional methods he has highlighted throughout his anti-drug campaign has garnered the opposition of human rights groups and some political leaders. He made international headlines with a campaign against drugs that has seen thousands of suspected criminals killed.

Duterte recently announced a "separation" from the U.S. as well as his plans to realign the Philippines with China and Russia.