Vico Sotto, Manny Jacinto among Time’s ‘Rising Stars’
Time Magazine has recognized Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto as two of the world’s Most Influential Rising Stars for 2025, or this year’s Time100 Next.
The 36-year-old Sotto made it to the list under the Leaders category, with Time highlighting his anticorrupton initiatives in the local government.
The accompanying write-up on Sotto took note of his data-driven approach to governance.
“His courageous approach—data-driven, direct, and empathetic—is a master class in modern, ethical leadership and has twice won him re-election, including in May. It’s a testament to the power of the individual to ignite a movement for change,” said the article written by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
Incredible range
Jacinto, best known for his roles as Jason Mendoza in the comedy series “The Good Place” and as Eric Reyes in “Freakier Friday,” was honored under Artists category.
His versatility as an actor was highlighted in the piece written by Emmy-winning writer and producer Alan Yang.
“Sure, he has incredible range as an actor—from performing so-dumb-it’s-smart comedy in The Good Place to pulling off how-did-he-do-that physical feats on The Acolyte to effortlessly charming Lindsay Lohan and moviegoers worldwide in Freakier Friday,” Yang wrote.
“But more importantly, Manny is fundamentally, elementally, constitutionally good,” he added.
Launched in 2019, the TIME100 Next is an offshoot of the magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential. It puts the spotlight on emerging leaders in politics, arts, technology, health and climate action.
Aside from Sotto and Jacinto, this year’s Rising Stars include online safety advocate Elliston Berry, New Zealand Gen Z Maori leader Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, and Thai golf sensation Jeeno Thitikul.
