By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel Beer import Bennie Boatwright is one step closer to becoming a Filipino after the bills seeking to grant him citizenship finally got the green light from the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Wednesday, May 6.
Boatwright, under House Bill No. 6639 and Senate Bill No. 1595, is seeking Filipino citizenship to give Gilas Pilipinas a much-needed boost for its bid to qualify to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Hearing no objections from government agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police which attended the hearing, committee chairperson, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan moved for the approval of the bill on the committee level.
Boatwright, who appeared before the committee, alongside Gilas Pilipinas program director Alfrancis Chua and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy, also manifested his intention to become a Filipino, expressing his fondness for the country’s culture, hospitality and passion for the sport.
“I’m familiar with the culture growing up,” said Boatwright.
“I grew up in Southern California and there’s this big Filipino community there. So it’s just growing up, I have plenty of Filipino friends,” he added.
“Everybody is loving and warm. The grit, as far as competing, I resonates with that. Also I’m Christian so the faith, I love how with San Miguel, we pray before and after practices. I love the food here, especially adobo, sinigang,” he furthered.
Chua, meanwhile, underlined the importance of having Boatwright as the team’s naturalized player for the Nationals to be able to compete against the powerhouses in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments.
Boatwright’s addition should also come as a big boost to the country’s title defense in the men’s 5-on-5 basketball tournament in the Nagoya Asian Games in September.
“Kailangan natin ng isang malaki. Bennie is very versatile. He’s 6-foot-10 but he can shoot, he can dribble, he can rebound. He can do a lot of things for his side at mabait na bata po,” said Chua who also vouched for the SMB import’s good character.
“He doesn’t complain at all. Hinahanap namin siya so when we called him, ‘I said Bennie we just want to pay you this amount but your agent wants this’. He said, ‘No problem. I’ll play. I’ll talk to him’.”
“Naglaro po siya kahit hindi yung presyong gusto niya. So wala po kaming sakit ng ulo diyan,” Chua stressed.
Also seeking naturalization is wrestler Matthew James Ramos for the Wrestling Association of the Philippines
The bills are still set to be tackled in the plenary for third and final reading before it is transmitted to the Office of the President for the signing to become officially a law.
