MANILA: Margarete Serrano’s foray into content creation began in the Philippines nearly two decades ago, when she would upload comedy skits while juggling her responsibilities as a nursing student.
What was then a hobby had a boost a few years later, as she moved to Abu Dhabi in 2014, where she found employment as a private nurse.
Known online as Em, she started sharing food reviews from her new home abroad.
“Some restaurant owners and managers began to notice my posts and invited me to revisit, which marked the beginning of my food blogging journey. Eventually, I returned to vlogging as well,” Serrano told Arab News.
Today, she has nearly 160,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and has transitioned into full-time content creation, sharing her culinary, travel experiences and tips for other overseas Filipino workers.
“I actively participate in community and volunteer events. Through my content, I aim to spread positivity, hope and kindness,” she said. “I want to inspire others to do good, give back and uplift one another — especially within the Filipino community.”
Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are home to nearly 2 million Filipinos. About 700,000 of them live in the UAE.
Traditionally employed in health care, education and corporate sectors, some of them, such as Serrano, have turned their social media-savviness and digital creativity into new opportunities.
With followers ranging from hundreds of thousands to more than a million, they rise to online fame with content varying from comedy skits to wellbeing, lifestyle and informative videos that help Filipinos adapt and adjust to life in the Middle East.
Michael Banua moved to Dubai in 2017 with a degree in chemistry and began his career as an account manager for a construction company. But storytelling has always been his passion. He now pursues it professionally.
“I’ve always loved storytelling. I once dreamed of becoming a filmmaker or writer, but life took me elsewhere. Content creation brought that dream back. Now I get to tell real, relatable stories in my own way every day,” Banua told Arab News.
His 116,000 followers on Instagram are drawn to positive and lighthearted content, in which he always tries to include Filipino culture — “from humor to everyday moments, so other nationalities can see and appreciate who we are,” he said.
“It’s my way of giving Filipinos here a piece of home while celebrating Dubai’s diversity, too.”
His compatriot and fellow Dubai-based creator, Jep Laguitan, retains his main job as a photographer and videographer.
Having lived in the UAE for the past 12 years, he has earned nearly 200,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, aiming his content at Filipinos.
“Mostly, I do comedy videos which attract more OFW audiences,” he said. “(It) makes our kabayan (compatriots) forget about the stress of their day.”
Others, such as Mark Ilano, who has about 230,000 followers on Instagram alone, are focused on specific themes.
Iland has become widely recognized for his content on menswear as well as Dubai city, creating posts dispensing advice for fashion and styling, as well as smart shopping and money-saving tips.
“I liked the idea of building a community around things we all care about and putting out content that’s fun, helpful or inspiring,” he said. “At first, it was just a hobby, but over time I realized it was something I really wanted to take more seriously.”
For Rechel Hoco, who has more than 1 million followers on Facebook alone, the content career also started out of sudden.
“I would film my daily life as an OFW — simple things, nothing fancy. Then one day, I made a video about trying mandi in Dubai, and it suddenly went viral. That’s when I realized, ‘OK, maybe this is something I can actually grow.’ That’s where it all began,” she told Arab News.
As one of the most high-profile Filipino content creators in the Middle East, Hoco sees her content as something that reflects her embrace of Dubai as home.
“I moved to Dubai in search of better opportunities, and this city gave me more than I ever dreamed of,” she said. “It helped me grow not just in my career, but also as a person.”
