Time names Philippine's Duterte as most influential person

April 17 (UPI) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won the 2017 Time 100 poll, the magazine's list of the world's most influential people as voted on by readers.

Time said Duterte consistently led the survey, which ended Sunday. Duterte concluded with a total of 5 percent of votes. His nearest competitor had 3 percent of votes.

A Pulse Asia poll shows that Duterte had an approval rating of 78 percent in March, a decrease of 5 percent from December.

Duterte became president of the Philippines in June after running on an anti-crime campaign, and shortly after assuming the presidency, he began a war on drugs.

Philippine police said more than 7,000 people have been killed by police and suspected vigilante groups in the anti-drug effort. Human rights organizations fear the death toll could be higher.

Earlier this month, Duterte said he would pardon 19 police officers accused of killing a town mayor who had been arrested on suspicion of drug-related crimes.

Rounding out the Top 10, in descending order, are Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Vladimir Putin, Rihanna, John Legend, Donald Trump and Emma Stone.

In 2016, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the title of most influential, while Russian President Vladimir Putin won in 2015.