THE Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights has approved two bills that seeks the naturalization of Barangay Ginebra's American import Justin Brownlee.
The committee chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino approved Senate Bill 1336 filed by Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa and Senate Bill 1516 of Sen. Sonny Angara on Monday.
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The approval by the committee is another step towards Brownlee representing the Philippines in international competitions, starting possibly with the February window of the Fiba Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers.
The House of Representatives’ version of the bill was approved last week by the Committee of Justice chaired by Rep. Juliet Marie de Leon.
The bills from the respective legislative bodies will go through discussions in the plenary until it reaches third reading before it is transmitted to the President for signing into law.
The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights went through 21 documents that Brownlee, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Barangay Ginebra, and the PBA submitted relevant to the bid of Brownlee to be naturalized.
Government agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Immigration, and National Bureau of Investigation also posed no objections towards Brownlee’s naturalization.
Brownlee wore a barong again and responded with an “opo” to affirmative answers to questions posed by the Senators, as he reiterated his desire to be naturalized during the hearing.
The Senate hearing comes just hours after Brownlee led Barangay Ginebra to a victory over TNT in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
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