Paul Christian Ocampo

ON THIS DAY: Honoring Apo Whang-Od and the celebrities who carry her ink

Article (news)

Nikka Avegail Sabio

Push Team

<p>Today marks the 109th birthday of the legendary Kalinga mambabatok, Whang-od Oggay, fondly known as Apo Whang-Od. For more than a century, she has dedicated her life to preserving the traditional art of batok or the ancient hand-tapped tattooing practice of the Butbut people in Buscalan, Kalinga.</p><p>Born in the quiet mountain village, Apo Whang-Od remains the country’s oldest traditional tattooist and one of the most powerful symbols of Filipino heritage. Over the years, Buscalan has drawn visitors from across the globe. Among those who made the journey are well-known celebrities who sought not just a tattoo, but a meaningful encounter with the legendary tattooist.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771324614362OTD_07-ApoWhangOd.png" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div> </div><p>Here are some of the celebrities who have been inked by Apo Whang-Od:</p><div> </div><div><strong>Jo Koy</strong></div><p>Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy traveled to the remote village of Buscalan during his 2025 visit to the Philippines to receive a tattoo from Apo Whang-Od. He shared photos on social media, including a heartwarming snap of the legendary tattooist wearing a hoodie from his “Just Being Koy” tour.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/7/30/fil-am-comedian-jo-koy-gets-a-tattoo-from-apo-whang-od-1706" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: Fil-Am comedian Jo Koy gets a tattoo from Apo Whang-od</strong></a></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMtwwcBJdcf/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A4071302.599999994%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="666" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Michelle Dee</strong></div><p>Beauty queen and actress Michelle Dee received Apo Whang-Od’s signature three-dot tattoo. The meeting was especially meaningful for Michelle, who previously honored the mambabatok during the 2023 Miss Universe pageant by wearing a black gown inspired by traditional Kalinga tattoo patterns.</p><div> </div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/2024/5/2/michelle-dee-gets-tattoed-by-apo-whang-od-before-her-miss-universe-ph-reign-concludes-2232" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: Michelle Dee gets tattooed by Apo Whang-od before her Miss Universe PH reign concludes</strong></a></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6bhEZGS-lb/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A4071311.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="882" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Piolo Pascual</strong></div><p>Kapamilya actor Piolo Pascual received the three-dot tattoo from Apo Whang-Od in 2024. He also had a compass design done by her nephew. In a previous interview, Piolo described the experience, from the trek to Buscalan to witnessing the younger generation of mambabatoks, as a special one.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4YUBrby8Hi/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A4071319.399999991%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="882" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Freel%2F3482425698553962&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=false&amp;height=889&amp;appId" width="500" height="889" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Zeinab Harake</strong></div><p>Content creator Zeinab Harake visited Buscalan in 2024 with her sister, Rana Harake. She documented their journey on YouTube and shared how starstruck she felt meeting Apo Whang-Od in person.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3XWnzrLzZq/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A4072184.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="747" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Rhian Ramos</strong></div><p>Rhian Ramos has three tattoos hand-tapped by Apo Whang-Od. In 2017, she shared that one of her designs was conceptualized by her and personally inked by the legendary tattooist, placed above her existing hawk and scorpion designs.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-7" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/BT_C7wCASKV/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A7%2C%22os%22%3A4210362.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="612" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-7" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Paolo Ballesteros and Maine Mendoza</strong></div><p>In 2019, the noontime show hosts revealed they were tattooed by Apo Whang-Od during a Lenten special shoot in Kalinga. They later shared stories of their hike up to the village and their memorable encounter with the mambabatok.</p><div> </div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvplIy5nZIe/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A4210371.599999994%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="566" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Kim Atienza and daughter Emman Atienza</strong></div><p>Kim Atienza had his first tattoo made by Apo Whang-Od in 2018. The television host got his cross tattoo, symbolizing his relationship with God, by the tattooist on her 101st birthday and <em>Matanglawin</em>’s 10th anniversary. </p><div><iframe width="1157" height="651" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/63z9mlWdvO8" title="Matanglawin: Kuya Kim&#x27;s first tattoo and Whang-Od&#x27;s birthday celebration" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Kuya Kim’s late daughter and social media personality Emman Atienza got her tattoo from Apo Whang-Od in 2025.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-9" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNxarmu5GN_/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A9%2C%22os%22%3A4210384.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="880" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-9" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Drew Arellano</strong></div><p>Travel host Drew Arellano got his tattoo from Apo Whang-Od in 2014. Despite the brief pain, he described it as “a lifetime worth of remembering another adventure.”</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-10" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/mOueoDJMKt/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A10%2C%22os%22%3A4211028.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="747" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-10" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Ryzza Mae Dizon</strong></div><p>Television host-actress Ryzza Mae Dizon also had the three dots pattern from Apo Whang-Od as she went to Buscalan in 2024.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-11" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5CuR-Ivj3e/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A11%2C%22os%22%3A4211089.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="723" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-11" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><strong>Chelsea Manalo</strong></div><p>Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Chelsea Manalo received a three-dot tattoo on her ribs from Apo Whang-Od, along with a “prayer” tattoo by Whang-Od’s granddaughter, Elyang. She described the experience as “receiving a piece of history.”</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-12" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQrDbgxEpjw/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A12%2C%22os%22%3A4211198.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="882" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-12" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>Liza Diño</strong></div><p>Liza Diño, along with partner Ice Seguerra, traveled to Buscalan to visit Apo Whang-Od who at the time was reported suffering from an illness and refused to go to a hospital. Liza then got her first tattoo from the mambabatok who was already well when they came. She called her tattoo a “badge of honor.”</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-13" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQp8KDaAd5i/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A13%2C%22os%22%3A4211695.099999994%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="511" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-13" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><strong> </strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/life/02/19/17/look-liza-dino-gets-traditional-tattoo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>READ: LOOK: Liza Dino gets traditional tattoo</strong></a></div><p>As Apo Whang-Od celebrates another year, her legacy continues to reach far beyond the mountains of Kalinga. Each tattoo she creates carries history, identity, and respect for the country’s rich culture and traditions.</p>

<p>Here are celebrities who got inked by legendary mambabatok and cultural treasure of the Philippines, Apo Whang-Od.</p>

Here are celebrities who got inked by legendary mambabatok and cultural treasure of the Philippines, Apo Whang-Od.