Duterte, ‘The Punisher,’ on the cover of TIME Magazine Asia

Presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte is front and center on the May 23 issue of TIME Magazine Asia.

The cover story titled "The Punisher" was penned by Charlie Campbell and echoes an earlier article published by the magazine in 2002.

In a phone call with GMA News Online, photo journalist Edwin Tuyay said that the magazine is now out on news stands, confirmed by his friend and fellow photographer Tammy David.

Tuyay clarified that Duterte did not pose for TIME contrary to earlier reports.

TIME purchased the photo from Tuyay as one-time-use-only, chosen from a series of portraits for the Asian Dragon Magazine's August 2015 issue. Duterte was still at odds about running a campaign at the time, but Asian Dragon had prophetically dubbed him "The Man Who Would Be President."

In the US Edition of the magazine, Campbell also wrote "Why the Philippines Elected 'The Punisher’ as President" and "Rodrigo Duterte: The Trump of the East?" —Aya Tantiangco/ALG, GMA News