MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has been included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people for 2013.
Aquino was among 23 world leaders listed, including US President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, China’s President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
In a piece written by the magazine’s news director Howard Chua-Eoan, a Filipino-American, Aquino was cited for stabilizing and energizing the economy.
“Aquino pushed through a reproductive-rights law that many said was impossible in the fervently Catholic nation. Most important, he became 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.
“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.â€
Also on the list are entertainers Jay-Z, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake; NBA superstar Lebron James and Chinese tennis player Li Na; and actor Daniel Day Lewis.
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, US first lady Michelle Obama, and Taliban victim Malala Yousafzai also made the list.