Manila: The Senate on Wednesday approved on third and final reading three measures during its special session - a bill declaring the waling-waling as the country's national orchid and two bills granting Philippine citizenship to athletes Bennie Francois Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved for the chamber to consider the bills on third reading, saying printed copies had been electronically distributed to senators on May 25 and 26 in compliance with the Constitution's three-day rule.

According to Philippines News Agency, the first measure passed was Senate Bill 2092, which declares the waling-waling, also known as Vanda sanderiana, as the National Orchid of the Philippines. The measure received 13 affirmative votes, with no negative votes or abstentions.

The Senate also approved House of Representatives Bill 6639, granting Philippine citizenship to Boatwright, a basketball player expected to strengthen the Gilas Pilipinas team, and House Bill 6644, granting citizenship to Ramos, a Filipino-American wrestler aiming to represent the country in international competitions. Both naturalization measures were approved unanimously with 13 affirmative votes.

Before the vote on Boatwright's citizenship bill, Zubiri noted that the two athletes had appeared in the Senate for three consecutive days before the session break, but their measures were delayed due to a previous impasse in the chamber. Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian emphasized that Boatwright and Ramos should not be held accountable for the delay, highlighting their physical presence at the sessions and subsequent return to training and representation of the country. 'In fairness to them, they were here present physically for three days. It's not their fault that their citizenship was not considered last time,' Gatchalian said.