BENNIE Boatwright’s naturalization process has begun, but when it would be completed still depends on a lot of considerations.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy said they were told by the Senate that Boatwright’s naturalization could be completed swiftly and it could even be done in as fast as just weeks.
Dy, however, said they were also told that it would largely depend on the priorities of the Senate, which, of course, also has other bills to work on.
Boatwright hearings could start in July
Don’t count on Boatwright’s naturalization to get rolling again in a month since the Senate plans to conduct hearings on it in July when the third regular session of the body begins.
“We had our consultative meeting in Senate already. The next step is really to wait for the actual hearing which they are hoping to do once the session starts in July,” said Dy to SPIN.ph recently.
Sen. Francis Tolentino will be one of the point persons in Boatwright’s naturalization, serving as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Tolentino also convened the parties involved in the naturalization, including Boatwright himself, after Sen. Sonny Angara filed Senate Bill No. 2646 which seeks to grant Filipino citizenship to the former San Miguel Beermen import.
Naturalization 'can take as little as one to two weeks'
“Sabi ni Sen. Tolentino, it can take as little as one to two weeks pero hindi mo masabi, depending on the agenda of the Senate kasi. May mga priority bills sila. But the bill has been filed,” said Dy.
In the last naturalization procedure by the Senate, Justin Brownlee was granted Filipino citizenship in January 2023, five months after Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa filed Senate Bill 1336.
Angara also filed Senate Bill 1516 on November 2022 that expedited Brownlee’s naturalization process.
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