MANILA, Philippines – TIME Magazine has named Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as one of the 100 most influential people of 2024, a list that includes other heads of state, Hollywood celebrities, and tycoons.

In a writeup, TIME correspondent Charlie Campbell said that Marcos, son and namesake of the late dictator, won the presidency in 2022 by whitewashing the family’s legacy of plunder and human rights abuses “through clever manipulation of social media.”

He added, however, that the Marcos family’s project to rehabilitate its image “has resulted in other shifts.”

“He brought technocrats back into government, steadied the post-­pandemic economy, and elevated the Philippines on the world stage,” the writeup read.

“Bongbong has stood steadfast against Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea and bolstered his nation’s alliance with the US in the face of ‘rising tensions in our region and the world,’ as he said last May. Many problems persist, including extra­judicial killings and journalists routinely attacked. But by trying to repair his family name, Bongbong may reshape his country too,” it added.

Marcos ascended to Malacañang following one of the most politically heated elections in the country. His poll victory came more than three decades after the People Power Revolution ousted his father, dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, whose 21 years in office was marked by iron-fist rule, human rights atrocities, and plunder.

Marcos inherited a Philippines that had become a pariah in the international community, after his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte made enemies with the West that criticized his bloody drug war and his attacks on the free press. Duterte also made a pivot to China under his “independent” foreign policy that veered the Philippines away from traditional allies like the United States.

Marcos has since pivoted back to the US, and pushed back against China’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, resulting in worsening tensions between Manila and Beijing.

The President also mostly turned his back on Duterte’s violent anti-narcotics campaign, saying he was more focused on the rehabilitation of drug users and the reorganization of the police force.

The TIME 100 list also includes Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Taiwan President-elect William Lai, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Argentinian President Javier Milei, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kenya President William Ruto, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Also in the list are artists Dua Lipa, Dev Patel, Taraji P. Henson, Michael J. Fox, and billionaire Mark Cuban.

See the full list here. – Rappler.com