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#RP612FIC: From Ibarra-Simoun's 'Are you a nurse din po?' convo to Leni Robredo the 'Katipunera'

By  NICK GARCIA
Published Jun 12, 2022 6:40 pm

As the Philippines celebrates Independence Day on June 12, the Filipino Twitterverse becomes replete with entries for the already traditional and iconic #rp612fic.

The hashtag #rp612fic, or Republic of the Philippines June 12 fiction, is an online phenomenon in which Pinoy netizens reimagine Philippine history and figures through memes, integrating them with pop culture and giving them a cheeky twist.

There are over 65,000 #rp612fic entries this year, as of this writing. Here are some of the best ones PhilSTAR L!fe has spotted.

Noli and El Fili's Simoun and Ibarra having an 'Are you a nurse din po?' moment

User @rodyboi reimagined Crisostomo Ibarra of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and his alterego Simoun from El Filibusterismo as having the "Are you a nurse din po?" moment.

During the tail-end of the campaign for the May 9 elections, a certain Jeanly Declarador who's apparently supportive of then-candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. commented on a post about Vice President Leni Robredo, saying Robredo was "acting not normal" and showing "signs and symptoms of ambivalence."

A netizen said they share the same "assessment," during which Declarador asked, "Are you a nurse din po?"

Moments later, Declarador responded with, "Opo, I'm a nurse. I'm teaching before psychiatric nursing po," much to everybody's amusement as the netizen appears to be talking to their self. It has since become a meme with different iterations.

Marian Rivera as Doña Victorina of Noli

In Noli, the character Doña Victorina is a social climber who married the Spaniard Tiburcio de Espadaña and lives in vanity and pretension. User @imkierantiu poked fun at a scene in GMA Network's adaptation of Korean television drama Temptation of Wife, starring Marian Rivera.

In the scene, Rivera's character is nonchalantly speaking broken Spanish as she's in a restaurant.

"Donya Victorina pretends that she cannot speak her native language, Tagalog, instead speaking awful Spanish," the tweet read.

Robredo as a Katipunera

User @mtgsmr uploaded a monochrome photo of Robredo wielding a bladed weapon, saying it's a photo of a "Katipunera" fighting for her country and countrymen. The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or KKK was established in 1892 to overthrow the Spanish government through a revolution.

The photo is from Robredo's campaign rally in Dagupan in Pangasinan last April 8, during which she assumed the role of a modern Princess Urduja in the production number prepared by the locals. There, Robredo's supporters showcased the story of the legendary warrior, who's believed to have hailed from the province.

Katipuneras a.k.a. Mariteses planning for the Philippine Revolution

Speaking of Katipuneras, user @therealrhic posted a "rare" black and white image of them "planning" for the Philippine Revolution. Who are they? None other than the Mariteses the Pinoys have a love-hate relationship with.

Marites is an informal nickname given to someone who regularly consumes and dishes out gossip. The stock photo depicts elderly women in a huddle, with one even doing the iconic "pamewang" as she's all ears to the tsismis, the "tea" being "spilled" as the cup runneth over.

Josephine Bracken as Jill Ilustre of The Broken Marriage Vow

Rizal is known for having had several romantic entanglements throughout his life, and user @chrsdltr imagined a scenario in which Rizal's common-law wife Josephine Bracken "finds out" about her husband's supposed affair.

The user used a photo of vlogger AC Soriano, who famously spoofed the character Dr. Jill Ilustre portrayed by Jodi Sta. Maria in The Broken Marriage Vow. In the teleserye, Ilustre discovers the affair between her fellow doctor husband David and his patient Lexy.

The pivotal scene where Ilustre exposes the affair to Lexy's parents had her saying the already iconic dialog, "Papunta pa lang tayo sa exciting part. Nabuntis ni David ang anak ninyo at pumunta siya ng America para ipa-abort ang bata."

Manila galleon trade 'review'

During the 1560s, Spanish trading ships called the Manila Galleon brought goods like porcelain, silk, and spices from Asian territories (then called the Spanish East Indies) to the Spanish Crown's Viceroyalty of New Spain, based in Mexico City. Manila Galleon also refers to the trading route between the ports of Manila and Acalpulo.

User @funsizeflyboy then posted a once viral screenshot of an exchange between a seller and buyer in an e-commerce platform. The buyer wrote, "Pangit yung tela," to which the seller clapped back with, "Mas pangit ka."

"leaked conversation between two fabric traders of the Manila Galleon Trade in 1560s," the user said.

Macario Sakay and company as members of 'Ben&Ben'

User @darthyajeev shared a photo of Macario Sakay, a Filipino general who took part in the 1896 Philippine Revolution, and his men (From left, seated: Julian Montalan, Francisco Carreon, Sakay, Leon Villafuerte; standing: Benito Natividad, Lucio De Vega).

With Sakay and Carreon having long hair, the user made sure to associate them with OPM band Ben&Ben, whose frontmen Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin are famous for sporting long hair.

"a rare pic of a band Ben&Ben warming up for their first gig in a small barrio," read the post, which Ben&Ben quote tweeted with "hahahah."

Heaven Peralejo of '22 rotations' fame as Nicolaus Copernicus' colleague

During her 22nd birthday, actress Heaven Peralejo (in)famously wrote that the occasion marked "22 rotations around the sun," tickling the funny bone of netizens because it's scientifically inaccurate. One rotation is 24 hours or a day, ergo 22 rotations is equal to 22 days, not years as Peralejo erroneously suggested.

With the blunder immortalized in the annals of social media history, user @rodyboi said it's a supposed entry from the journal of Peralejo, the "first Filipina astronomer."

According to the user, Peralejo "helped" Renaissance figure Nicolaus Copernicus formulate his heliocentric theory, or the sun is at the center of the solar system as planets and other heavenly bodies revolve around it.

The 'Fall' of Bataan

On April 9, 1942, officials in command of Bataan—where Filipino and American forces maintained the main resistance in the war against the Japanese—formally surrendered, saying "Bataan has fallen." The event has since been known as the Fall of Bataan.

User @obladdiobladdah uploaded a 2018 viral video of government officials from Zamboanga plunging into the water as the wooden footbridge they're standing on collapses.

The entry then called the incident as the "Fall of Bataan."

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TAGS: memes INDEPENDENCE DAY #rp612fic araw ng kalayaan june 12

About the author

NICK GARCIA

Nick writes about politics, law, health, entertainment, and pop culture, among others. Outside work, he's a wannabe musician and cook. Email him at [email protected].