(SPOT.ph) The Philippines celebrates the 124th year of independence from Spanish colonizers today, June 12. And that more-than-one-hundred-year gap means that we commemorated it in a way our ancestors could have never imagined: with the funniest tweets possible. Even better (or worse, depending on how you squint)? Twitter was all about the #RP612FIC. Don't worry if you're a little lost—we'll keep you up to date, with the memes, too, of course.
Also read:
Why Isn’t Independence Day in August?
The Philippines Isn’t What It Used to Be
Alright, so June 12, 1898 was the day Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent of Spain. This was just a few days after the Philippine flag as we know now was first unfurled in Cavite on May 28. A few flaps of a butterfly's wings later and we now have #RP612FIC all over Twitter on the day Aguinaldo set as the most historic of all days in our story as a nation.
So what happened? Well, a lot. But zooming in on the hashtag, that started as early as 2009 thanks to writer Paolo Chikiamco. It began as a way for folks in the literary circle to post about their flash takes on what could have been in Philippine history. Think different takes—i.e. alternatives—interpretations, readings, retellings and all that of well-known moments of the country's past. The "RP" stands for, of course, Republic of the Philippines, while 612 is the June-12 date, and "Fic" is short for fiction.
The hashtag resurrects almost annually on June 12 and has changed to become more about blending current pop culture with our history—with hilarious results. We round up the best examples from 2022 below.
The best #RP612FIC tweets to celebrate Philippine Independence Day 2022:
Plus, the alternate-realities spilled over on different platforms, too, so special mention to this insane TikTok that probably has Jose Rizal rolling in his grave:
@racobell You're tuned in to the La SOLIIIDaridad podcast with ya broski Joe Rizzle pareh
♬ original sound - raco ruiz