Social media host engineers way to keep Filipinos up to date on pandemic
When Singapore enforced social distancing — dubbed a circuitbreaker — to halt a rising number of COVID-19 cases last year, Jun Rigonan found himself at the forefront of a repatriation story.
The engineer with a passion for news, who founded the Facebook page Rated J, has been keeping compatriots who had to return home to the Philippines due to the pandemic abreast of the latest developments. It is also aimed at Filipino expats in Singapore.
Rated J, a nonprofit voluntary group, prides itself as a source of “news about overseas Filipinos, for overseas Filipinos, by overseas Filipinos”. The page tackles a variety of topics, including COVID-19 issues, migrant workers’ rights, entertainment, exchange rates and the weather.
Rigonan, a chemical engineering graduate, has no formal media but he used to be a Singapore correspondent for TFC News, run by the Philippine broadcasting giant ABS-CBN. He initially wanted to launch a radio show on YouTube in January last year.
Rated J, which marked its first anniversary on Jan 21, has garnered 14,000 followers on Facebook, more than 11,000 page “likes” and has become a vital news source for the Filipino community in Singapore.
“We started with about 300 followers, but fewer than 500. We really struggled. I was doing live shows every Saturday,” Rigonan said.
Occasionally, he is helped to man his show by Filipino journalist friends.
He said that when they heard that Filipinos were being repatriated during the pandemic, it was one of their first big stories.
Rigonan was referring to the lockdown enforced in Singapore in April, when Filipino migrant workers in the food and beverage industry, as well as the aviation sector, were suddenly asked to return to their home country.
Most of his audience comprises domestic workers, and one of his videos attracted 400,000 views.
Rigonan, who arrived in Singapore in 2008 and works from home from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm for a manufacturing company, does production work for his Facebook page after office hours.
He said he does not mind editing until 2 am, because he enjoys it. Before the pandemic emerged, he visited districts in Singapore to livestream his shows.
When the lockdown was enforced, he said everything was very difficult. He was unable to do live shows or interviews, but spent his time coming up with other ideas.
Rigonan said he feels honored to be recognized as a source of information and for running a platform to fight disinformation on social media in Singapore and the Philippines. He also said he sometimes makes mistakes, which his audience points out.
“They treat me like a normal journalist who also makes mistakes. Even the (Philippine) embassy recognizes me as a newsperson,” he said.
The page also acts as a platform for migrant workers, who occasionally seek help. Riognan said many issues involving such employees center on them falling ill or experiencing violence at work.
He added that he sometimes works alone for long periods, which can be tiring, but messages of gratitude and encouragement keep him going.
“I’ve found a new purpose in life. Previously, I thought that I just wanted to be a journalist and a storyteller, but now, it’s not just about being a storyteller, it’s more about using social media to help people,” he said.
“This is my purpose in life — to be able to reach out and be of service to my fellow overseas Filipinos.”