MANILA – Spanish football player Bienvenido Marañon and Ivorian basketball cager Angelo Kouame will soon be eligible to wear the country’s colors in the international competition as they are a step closer to becoming Filipinos.
The Senate, in a 23-0 voting on Monday afternoon, has approved on the third and final reading the House Bill No. 8631, the naturalization bill of Marañon, and House Bill No. 8632, a bill that seeks to grant Kouame a Filipino citizenship.
Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights chair Richard Gordon said the naturalization process of Marañon and Kouame “values the opportunity to become more closely knit to the fabric of Philippine society.”
“We are excited for them to be naturalized because they have proven that they really want to be Filipinos, but they also have to be exemplary, to be an inspiration to the Filipinos,” Gordon said.
Negrense senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who authored Maranon’s citizenship bill, said the 34-year-old United City Football Club star will be a huge boost to the Philippine Azkals in the international competitions.
“We hope that Mr. Marañon can continue to inspire the youth and contribute to our national football program. We look forward to his contributions as part of our Azkals and we hope he can also continue his good work as a member of the Filipino community,” Zubiri said.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who authored Kouame’s naturalization bill, said the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles center will play a vital role for Gilas Pilipinas, especially in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifying tournament later this year.
“Kouame is primed to make a significant contribution to Philippine basketball. He is ready to play for the national team. More importantly, he is more than willing to represent our country,” Angara said.
“Ange is still very young and his game is still developing. This early we have already seen how good he is playing in the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines). He will only improve with his continued training at the hands of our very capable coaching staff and trainers in Gilas Pilipinas,” he added.
With the counterpart measures from the House of Representatives already approved last month, the naturalization bill of the two are now up for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature./PN
