Maniolas

(Updated 12:17 a.m., 19 April 2013) Time magazine has included Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in its list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”. Aquino and 22 other personalities including Pope Francis and U.S. President Barack Obama were among 23 “leaders” in the list. Others in the list were divided into categories such as artists, icons, titans, and pioneers. “In a country of nicknames, Filipinos proudly call their President PNoy — a pun on the word they use for themselves: Pinoy. For his courage, however, he really should have the pet name the family gave his eldest sister Maria Elena: Ballsy,” Time news director Howard Chua-Eoan wrote in describing Aquino. Chua-Eoan said Aquino inherited the legacy of his late father former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and received a boost from sympathy over the death of his mother former President Corazon Aquino. But he said Aquino “quickly began making his own name” and pushed through the Reproductive Health law. The Time article even credited Aquino for “[becoming] the face of the regional confrontation with Beijing over its claim to virtually all of the South China Sea.” “It is a brave stance, the long-term consequences still unknown,” said Time. Meanwhile, Aquino, upon being told of the Time article, credited the country for his inclusion in the list: “Ito po ay dahil sa inyong lahat.” The Presidential Communications Operations Office called attention to the Time story Thursday night. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda added this was the first time Aquino appeared Read More …