FRANCISCO S. TATAD
A TIME magazine online survey shows President Rodrigo Duterte as an early frontrunner in a list of 100 most influential people in the world today, leading, among others, Pope Francis, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, singer Beyonce, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates, and former Democratic Party presidential aspirant Bernie Sanders. “Influential” means having “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development or behavior of someone or something” for good or bad. It is not clear in what ways non-Filipinos see DU30 as a positive influence upon their lives, but very few Filipinos doubt that if and when he says he will kill you or have you killed, you can afford to ignore it.