KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
A Santa Clarita native and Valencia High graduate is seeking help in getting assistance from the United States Embassy in the Philippines in order to come home.
Benjamin Renzulli, along with his girlfriend Jade Taubman, have spent a month under various lockdowns and quarantines in the Philippines.
The young couple had made the trip in early March to allow Taubman to say goodbye to an elderly family member who had been diagnosed with dementia last year, and has since deteriorated rapidly.
He already was unable to recognize her, Taubman said.
“The day after we landed, the pandemic was announced on the news. When we were at the airport the president (of the Philippines) announced the lockdown of Luzon,” Renzulli said. “Following that, all the other little islands started to do all the same lockdown as well.”
The main island of Luzon houses the Philippine capital of Manila, and has a population of around 57 million people.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Renzulli.
According to Johns Hopkins, the Philippines has 4,195 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 221 deaths as of Friday– significantly less than some other countries of comparable size. However, this may also be because the nation currently only has a testing capacity of 2,000 to 2,500 people per day, according to health officials.
Renzulli and Taubman were ordered to undergo a 14-day quarantine, and a government nurse came daily to take their temperatures. The two were not allowed to leave the AirBnB they were staying at under any circumstances.
On March 17, while they were still under quarantine, the two received an email from government officials stating that the U.S. embassy would be closed on March 24, and that a sweeper flight would be available at their local airport to get them to Manila.
“This was the only option to get to Manila which is the only airport that flies international. They emailed at 11 at night, flight at 8, which, no problem,” Renzulli said. “But we couldn’t have made it because we didn’t have a quarantine pass and there was a military checkpoint, so we wouldn’t have been able to get to the sweeper point.”
By March 26, their quarantine was over and they were eligible for a quarantine pass, however, they were unable to receive the physical passes until March 30.
“We couldn’t go anywhere anyway, because the domestic flights were all cancelled, and we had missed the only sweeper flight offered because we were still under mandatory quarantine,” Renzulli said.
That same day, domestic flights began being cancelled until at least April 15. Renzulli and Taubman called their air carrier to rebook flights home for after that date — a call that took eight and a half hours. However, the two noted that they were lucky because the company had covered the fare difference.
They knew that they needed to be closer the local airport for the next sweeper flight, so on March 31, Renzulli and Taubman started making their way to the next lodging Renzulli had managed to scrounge up: an AirBnB 75 miles away owned by a sympathetic man staying in New York.
Unfortunately, all taxis and ride services had been closed. With no other options, the two began walking, pulling their luggage along with them under the hot sun, in 90 percent humidity.
“We didn’t even get to the first checkpoint,” Renzulli said. “We were stopped by health department workers, two military vans, and a police vehicle. People were scared when they saw us walking.”
After being questioned, a random passerby offered to take the two to their lodgings. Although finally arriving was a relief, the reception from the local population was less than gracious.
“The house was … raided essentially,” Renzuli said. “In comes six government health workers, and two police vans full of officers. We told them, ‘We have our documents for quarantine, we’re going to Tacloban to get to Manila.’ They didn’t believe us, because Tacloban is closed and on lockdown. Once I showed them the email from the embassy, they backed off.”
The head health worker called the Mayor and secured an ambulance to take Renzulli and Taubman to Tacloban City, which had recently been put on lockdown. The two stated that because of the military checkpoints, it was unlikely that they would have made it into the city on their own.
Now in a hostel, the couple are only one hour and 20 minutes away from Manila by plane, but travelling by car and ferry would take at least 20 hours.
Renzulli applied for and received a home quarantine pass, which allows one member of a household to leave a home to shop for food and water. Outside, they can hear announcements from local police over loudspeakers echoing through the streets, saying ‘strict quarantine rule, no violators.’
“They could potentially come in here and arrest us,” Taubman said. “We have to be careful about what we say about the military and the government.”
On April 2, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned citizens that anyone who defied lockdown orders would be shot by the police.
“I will not hesitate,” Duterte said in a televised address. “My orders are to the police and military, as well as village officials, if there is any trouble, or occasions where there’s violence and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead. Do not intimidate the government. Do not challenge the government. You will lose.”
Although Renzulli and Taubman have had several other harrowing experiences, they said they will not dare share the details until they are safely back on American soil, for fear of retribution from the local authorities.
This has become even more imperative now that the lockdown has been extended to April 30, which has caused all domestic airlines to follow suit. However, in their communications with U.S. officials, they are being told that flights are available.
The issue lies in the fact that while international flights are available in and out of Manila, domestic companies such as Philippine Airlines, which offer transportation between islands in the archipelago, are no longer offering flights.
FLIGHT ADVISORY: We confirm that all Philippine Airlines domestic and international flights are cancelled up to April 30, 2020, in line with the extension of the Luzon Enhanced Community Quarantine until April 30.
Learn more: https://t.co/zVx0hEV8K7 pic.twitter.com/6hwV22a6AS
— Philippine Airlines (@flyPAL) April 8, 2020
Renzulli and Taubman’s frustration is only compounded upon noticing that other international travelers who have been left stranded are receiving assistance, specifically mentioning European Union and Canadian efforts to provide repatriation options for their citizens.
“These sweeper flights are being offered to other countries,” Renzulli said. “They partner with other airlines to get the flights specially approved and only allow their people on board.”
On April 4, long after the domestic flight lockdown had been put in place, Renzulli and Taubman were informed by the U.S. Embassy via email that the United States “does not anticipate arranging repatriation flights in the Philippines at this time.”
While some government representatives are attempting to help, the information that they have offered the two American citizens has been “severely out of date,” such as suggesting a private plane — which would be highly illegal due to the lockdown, a ferry — also shut down, or driving — also impossible due to military checkpoints.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Renzulli.
While Renzulli was able to find one legal private plane that could take them to Manila, the tickets would cost $15,000. Usually, tickets for the same flight cost $30.
Despite the financial hardship posed by this ordeal Renzulli and Taubman insist that money is not their goal, getting assistance from their government is the priority, not only for themselves, but for other Americans who might be trapped overseas.
“We don’t want money, it is gonna cost us $3-4 grand to get home, but I don’t feel that we are where the need is. The petition is to get awareness,” Renzulli said. “We found another family of 13 Americans that are on another island that also can’t get out. We’ve exhausted all our options. No one has been able to help us. They always push it off to the next person.”
In the short time since posting the petition to attract the attention of the United States government, there have been several threats posted to the page or even sent to Taubman directly. It is because of fear of this backlash that several other trapped Americans they have come in contact with via social media have declined to speak out.
“They feel like they could be trapped, there are people here losing their voice because of the government, but at this point, this is the only way we are able to get this information out,” Taubman said. “There are so many who probably need help but are scared to speak out.”
Renzulli’s parents still live in Santa Clarita, although the young couple currently hails from Bay Park, California, near San Diego.
Taubman stated that she understood that there are people who are going to simply judge and condemn the two instead of offering the simple help of their signature, but that she was still willing to stand up and draw attention to the issue not only for her own sake, but for the dozens of other international travelers who were unable to return home because of forces beyond their control.
“We are seeking compassion and have the humility to share our stories and ask for help. My story is one of many, I only wish to set an example and be the voice for those who do not have the platform or capacity to reach out for assistance. I am not ashamed to share my story and will not be made to feel guilty,” Taubman wrote in the petition. “Many of us stranded here, are in fact not here just for vacations. We have families, are on missionary trips, business trips, and even if we are here for a vacation…that in no way means that we don’t deserve or need help. No one asked for any of this to happen, and we all must be there for each other, as friends, neighbors, and humans all around.”
As of Friday, April 10, the petition had gathered just over 1,100 signatures.
To sign the petition, visit the website.
Since the original posting of this article, Renzulli and Taubman have decided to do all they can to raise funds for other stranded travellers, to donate to the GoFundMe, click here.
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I will send you $1,000. Where do I send the check?
They’re not asking for money. Please share the article and if you can, please sign the petition. The couple is my cousin and her boyfriend.
I was in the Philippines on March the 13 th and it is true that the Philippines shut down air travel but two days later opened air travel for foreign. There has been many sweeper flights to get to Manila. I was supposed to come home on April 2nd but I changed my flight and came back on March 21st . I do agree with one thing that they said the Embassy was not much help. I hope that they get home soon.
Hello Barbara my email is
[email protected]
We were hesitant to start a go fund me or something along those lines. But wow this just brought tears to my eyes seeing you offer something so generous like that.
Hi Barbara, it’s astonishing hearing that you would let us like that. If you would like to reach out to me. My phone number is 661-964-7522 or you can email me at [email protected]. I can only use it when I have WiFi here to do calling. I would love to speak with you and talk with you about how you can help.
Be careful who you send money to please. These days there are many scammers that’ll look 100 % real.
Confusing article fails to mention where the couple was when quarantine started. Article implies Manila but way down in the article it appears they’re now in Tacloban but still not known where they were when story started.
They’re currently in Tacloban City on the provincial island of Leyte over 500 miles away from Manila. It is where they originally flew to a month ago.
Have they tried looking for flights to other Asia countries then to LAX? My aunt just arrived from PI this evening, PAL canceled her flights. She had to buy a one way ticket back to LA with a different carrier.
You can only get an international flights from Manila.
If you are in Tacloban you are much closer to Cebu. You could take a flight to Hongkong then LAX.
To be honest,it is a safer place right now to be in Tacloban compared to the high rate of covid cases here in California now.You are so close to nature and everthing that you eat is organic.I have my cousins there in Carigara Leyte and they are American citizens.Guess what,they are enjoying their time in that island and they are just patiently waiting for the flights to resume to go back here in the US.But I totally understand your point.You just wanna be home.Hope it gets easier for you.Prayers n good luck
I would try to help need more information though????
http://gf.me/u/xwtwtv
We created a GoFundMe.
It’s to help all stranded United States citizens in the Philippines currently. Please follow through there we just created it today because we had so many people offering to help.
They have sweeper flights to Manilla announced daily by the US Embassy according to my family who live in the Philippines.
That is untrue. There are sweeper flights that are offered daily are only for other countries. That is the issue that we are having.
That is true I was in the a Philippines on March the 13 th and I was to come home on April 2nd but after the Philippines government started letting foreigners fly out I changed my flight for March 21st . There were all kinds of sweeper flights to Manila from other parts of the Philippines. The US embassy was not much help but they did post about sweeper flights and you had on your own make travel arrangements . It was hard when all ground transportation was shut down. I hope that they can get home.
Okay, I went to Mardi Gras middle of Feb, when I came back in February they were already mentioning NOT to travel, why in March would they leave the country. Beyond me, my ill grandmother in Mexico, yeah I canceled that trip to see her last month knowing that the local SCV gentleman had the covid 19. Um just saying not very smart on their behalf. Good luck to them.
I tend to agree with you not very smart on their part
Just like those cruise ship people still took a cruise with 1,000 plus people on board and are stuck on ships now
They were all warned not to travel And what help do you expect for a private jet to come and get you What about all
All the others stuck here ?? You may have to ride it out just like them until it is safe to travel
Reach out to a politician like Senator Pacquiao. Anyone out there like higher government official or somebody with influence can help.
We have reached out to local governments here. They inform us daily that it’s up to the US government in order to approve sweeper flights. Other foreign embassy’s have been able to arrange sweeper flights for their citizens. The US has not because they believe that commerical flights exists, but that’s only from Manila. The issue at hand is that we can’t get to Manila without a sweeper flight.
This billionaire pride of the Philippines boxer / Senator would be a waste of your time trying to reach out to. I won’t elaborate for fear of my wife and 2 kids being retaliated against them because they are of Philippine Nationals, or me being refused to re-enter the country to bring them home U.S once all this pandemic settles down. I have lived in Philippines off & on for 14 years and the level of money making tactics the government over there employs against foreigners is ruthless criminal behavior at its best. I agree if your stuck there it’s better to keep quiet and ride this one out for your own safety till you are safely back in U.S. Better to keep your mouth shut. I wish you prayers and all the luck getting home safely. I wish I had a more positive solution for you other then donating to the go fund you being put in place to get you safely home.
What bummer these two young people find themselves I think they state that financial is not on issue otherwise Maybe I could contribute on go fund to help them pay for their return flight home
http://gf.me/u/xwtwtv
We have now officially created a GoFundMe in order to raise money to help ALL stranded Americans here in the Philippines that we are in contact with. The remaining money will be donated to Covid-19 Relief funds
Yes how can we donate
http://gf.me/u/xwtwtv
We have created a gofundme now because so many people have requested to help. Please visit there if you would like to donate. ALL proceeds will go to United States citizens stranded abroad here in the Philippines. We have been able to get in contact with 30 of them. The more we share and make our petition away the more that reach out to us for help.
Stuck here my self after my flight was screwed on march 17 and the end of long vacation. Nothing to do but wait cant afford a 1500 ticket to get home lol.
Reach out to us on our petition and Facebook. We have started a gofundme for people just like you. We are doing everything we can to help.
I don’t understand how this could happen. I just heard from my friend in Seattle that they were able to come home just a few days ago taking Philippine airlines. But of course he was staying in Manila.
I would probably send a message to president Duterte and ask for help through the media. It would be a shame if they don’t get a positive result. Good luck to both of them.
There were so many foreigners trapped in PI or any country due to the pandemic. Instead of planning to travel and fly back home which is impossible at the moment, why not just stay with relatives (should you have one) or rent an apartment, hostel, airbnb, hotel, etc. and just follow what the government/medical authorities is asking you to do. Chill out inside in one of the available places and stay safe instead of going out and making yourselves vulnerable! You not only make yourselves free of all the trouble but you also help yourselves from getting the virus! Just my 2 cents.
Gosh– President Duterte N-E-V-E-R said anyone gonna go out under quarantine shoot them dead! He clearly says in the sona eventhoughmy English is not that great to explain this but it clearly says if there is any circumstances that violence may come and it will start to harm each other it means if people are violent and start to fight with the police or military and will harm thier lives and they will not have any other choice but to shoot them dead rather than they will be dead as well.
You are right. The left leaning media twists the story so blatantly. They should be called out for it. I t has already been misused here too.
I agree with what you said Emarie Jumawan. He was trying to make the president look like a bad person.
Do not believe the blatant lies from left leaning media that omits the true meaning of President Duterte’s statements. He meant to shoot the Left communist insurgents – most especially the ones sabotaging distribution of Government subsidies and relief if push comes to shove. Very familiar to the narratives of the policenen in the US.
All other problems in the local level are the local LGUs undoing. Everyone is suffering from this horrible crisis. Altough your experiences were unfortunate why not make lemonandes from Lemons and chill in the tropics that you are already in. The PH people majorly does not defy the govt ECQ thinking it is trampling their own rights rather they just want the curve to flatten asap.
I myself is staying at the Northern Philippines who should be back in New Jersey, but decided to stay put until after the pandemic for health reasons. My advise is that lying back to the US at this time may have health consequences.
Ivy is getting help from a family law specialist to become Adrian’s guardian. Murillo said the siblings don’t have a relationship with their father, who lives in the Philippines.
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