Bienve Marañon thankful as PH naturalization nears

Bienve Marañon leads Ceres-Negros past Svey Rieng of Cambodia. CERES PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Bienve Marañon couldn’t be more grateful after he moved a step closer to gaining Filipino citizenship.

On Tuesday, the Spanish striker’s naturalization bid hurdled the House of Representatives. It will be passed on to the Senate next then submitted to the Office of the President.

In a video on Twitter, Marañon expressed his gratitude as he gets closer to finally be able to suit up for the Philippine men’s national football team.

The 34-year-old Marañon introduced himself to the Philippine football scene in 2015 with Ceres-Negros and went on to become the all-time top scorer in the AFC Cup with 35 goals.

To represent the Philippines in international competitions is not Marañon’s only goal as he also has his sights on helping Philippine football develop at the grassroots level.

“I’m here to focus on the youth and the young players—maybe kids six years old to 12 years old—and make them love the game more,” he said.

“They can always play football and not just basketball. If we can start having more of that little by little, we can actually have more academies and more players.”