Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has been included in TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential rising stars, joining a global roster of leaders, innovators, and creatives making their mark on the world.
Sotto shares the recognition with Filipino Canadian actor Manny Jacinto, who also made the cut this year. Both were highlighted by notable figures in the magazine’s tribute write-ups.
In her testimonial, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa emphasized how Sotto ended a 27-year political dynasty in Pasig “through radical transparency.” She praised his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, noting that “mobile kitchens fed front liners efficiently, zero-emission buses moved workers without inflated contracts, and aid reached families based on need, not political loyalty.”
Jacinto, known for roles in The Acolyte and Freakier Friday, was lauded by Emmy-winning writer Alan Yang for his “incredible range as an actor.” Yang described him as “fundamentally, elementally, constitutionally good” and expressed hope that Jacinto will rise to become one of the industry’s great leading men.
TIME’s 2025 list also features figures such as Wicked star Jonathan Bailey, poet Ocean Vuong, singer Tate McRae, Thai politician Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, Spring Health CEO April Koh, and Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm, whose company brought back the long-extinct dire wolf.
Other honorees include actors David Corenswet and Lola Tung, filmmaker Maggie Kang, librarian Amanda Jones, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Emi Mahmoud, among others. The selections were curated with input from TIME editors and reporters worldwide.
