Justin Brownlee is now one step away from realizing his dream of becoming a naturalized Filipino.
The House Bill 6224 or the proposed measure seeking to grant Brownlee a Filipino citizenship has hurdled the Philippine Senate on its third and final reading on Monday, Dec. 12.
With a 21-0-0 vote, the bill was unanimously approved by all of the senators present in the session that was also attended by Brownlee who was in his usual Barong Tagalog he also wore in the earlier hearings.
With the House of Representative also passing a similar bill with 274-0-1 vote last Nov. 29, the documents will be transmitted to Malacanang for signing into law by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
“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,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chairman and Senator Sonny Angara.
“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,” he added.
Once turned into a law, Brownlee can now process his documents including his Philippine passport that would allow him to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the sixth and last window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in February.
He will join NBA star Jordan Clarkson and Ateneo big man Ange Kouame in Gilas naturalized players pool.