NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Move over, Maria Ressa. TIME Magazine has a new ‘Most Influential Person’ — Asia’s songbird Regine Velasquez.

For standing up to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin by questioning his intelligence, for displaying patriotism and defending her country’s territorial rights, and for coming to the defense of giant clams fished out by the Chinese from the West Philippine Sea, TIME has named Velasquez ‘Most Infuential Person in Scarborough Shoal.’

It all started when the pipit (Filipino version of the songbird) tweeted her disgust over Locsin’s comment that the Philippines will not go to war over giant clams:

(And I thought you were smart. I’m just a simple perspn with simple thoughts. These people are invading our territory they are not just taking food they are destroying our waters.)