#BabaeAko makes Time list of internet’s most influential

MANILA, Philippines — Founders and advocates of the #BabaeAko movement have been included in the list of 25 most influential people on the internet by Time magazine.

Launched in May in response to President Duterte’s statements against women, the movement used the hashtag #BabaeAko to call out sexism and misogyny under the present administration.

The group organized an Independence Day protest on June 12, days after Duterte kissed a married Filipina in Korea that drew criticisms from rights advocates and civil society organizations.

“With every misogynistic statement, he is saying ‘you can do the same because I get away with it,’” journalist Inday Espina-Varona, one of the movement’s founders, was quoted as saying in the Time article.

“Society looks up to him… (But he still needs to be taught how to) simply be human,” actress and political satirist Mae Paner, better known as Juana Change, said.

Reacting to the movement’s inclusion in the Time list, Paner called out Duterte’s daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte who earlier dubbed the movement as “doomed.”

“Say mo (What can you say) Sara? Join us?” she wrote on Twitter.

Among those who actively took part in the movement include women and men from different walks of life, including politicians, bloggers and rights advocates.

Supporters of the administration earlier dismissed the criticisms against Duterte’s sexist and misogynistic remarks as “clearly political.”

According to Time, they evaluated the contenders’ global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.

Others on the list were Korean pop group BTS, American artists Rihanna and Kanye West, Japanese actress and comedian Naomi Watanabe, US President Donald Trump and the student survivors of the Florida mass shooting.