VOTING 21-0-0, the Senate yesterday passed on third and final reading a measure that will grant Filipino citizenship to Ginebra San Miguel import Justin Brownlee.
Senate Bill No. 1336 or Granting Philippine Citizenship to Justin Brownlee was filed by Senators Ronald Dela Rosa, Christopher Go, Angara and Joel Villanueva, and were taken up in the Committee on Justice and Human Rights headed by Sen. Francis Tolentino.
Angara said Brownlee will beef up the roster of Gilas Pilipinas in the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in February next year.
In the House of Representatives, the bills were filed by Reps. Mikee Romero and Gus Tambunting. SBP Vice Chairman Robbie Puno was among the co-authors of the bill.
The Senate approved House Bill 6224, without amendments, paving the way for the transmittal of the measure to the President for signing.
“We would like to express our gratitude to our colleagues here in the Senate and the House of Representatives who gave their full support to the naturalization of Brownlee. After several years of playing as an import in the PBA, Brownlee has now deemed the Philippines as his second home and has demonstrated a strong desire to contribute to the country as a future player of our Gilas Pilipinas squad,” said Angara, who is the chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
