Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 29) — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading the proposed measure seeking to grant Philippine citizenship to Barangay Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee.
Voting 274-0-1, lawmakers approved House Bill 6224 which grants citizenship to Brownlee, allowing him to play for the national basketball team as a naturalized player.
Since first arriving in the country in 2016, Brownlee has been the import of Ginebra in the PBA. He helped the perennial crowd favorites win five championships and was named Best Import of the Conference twice.
Similar bills were also filed in the Senate and are pending approval.
Once his naturalization is approved by both houses of Congress, it will then be transmitted to the Office of the President for signing into law.
Brownlee is expected to bolster the Gilas Pilipinas frontcourt in the February window of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers when they go up against Lebanon and Jordan.
The Philippines currently has a 5-3 win-loss card in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
