Bill granting Philippine citizenship to Justin Brownlee now up for Marcos' signature

The bill granting Philippine citizenship to American basketball player Justin Donta Brownlee will be now up for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signature.

This, after the Senate unanimously approved on third and final reading House Bill 6624 without amendments to the version passed by the lower chamber.

Twenty-one senators voted for the passage of the measure. No one voted against it nor abstained. The bill hurdled final reading a week after it was approved by the Senate on second reading.

"The Senate approved House Bill 6224, without amendments, paving the way for the transmittal of the measure to the President for signing," a statement from the Office of Senator Sonny Angara, one of the authors of the bills that sought Brownlee's naturalization, said.

The lawmakers expedited the passage of the measure as Brownlee is being considered in the lineup of Gilas Pilipinas, the county's national team for men's basketball, which is set to face Lebanon and Jordan in the sixth and final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in February 2023.

Angara, also the chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas — the national sports association for basketball — said Brownlee will fill in for Utah Jazz player Jordan Clarkson who is still fulfilling his commitments to his team in the National Basketball Association.

"With Brownlee as part of Gilas, we will be able to maintain the momentum going into the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers this February. Things are definitely looking up for Philippine basketball and with the right amount [of] support, our resurgence in the world hoops stage could definitely become a reality sooner than later," Angara said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News