Jo Koy ‘blessed’ with tattoo by Apo Whang-Od

Quite literally, Filipino American comedian Jo Koy has added another meaningful mark to his journey of reconnecting with his Filipino roots.

The internationally known funnyman recently traveled to the highlands of Kalinga to receive a traditional hand-tapped tattoo from none other than the mambabatok legend herself, Apo Whang-Od.

“I’ve been blessed by the legend. Mahal kita Apo Whang-Od,” Jo Koy shared in a social media post, accompanying a series of photos that captured the momentous encounter. 

The 108-year-old Whang-Od, regarded as the oldest living mambabatok from the Butbut people of Buscalan, is known worldwide for preserving the age-old art of pambabatok, a traditional tattooing technique where ink is tapped into the skin using a thorn and bamboo stick.

The pictures showed Jo Koy smiling beside Whang-Od, while others documented the process of her inking him and the traditional tools she used. 

The visit sparked amusement online, with netizens teasing the comedian about the cultural icon’s unique habit of grabbing visitors’ groins during greetings, a lighthearted gesture she’s become famously known for.

This wasn’t Jo Koy’s first brush with the traditional art. Back in 2023, he received a tattoo from another mambabatok, Wilma “Ate Wamz” Gaspili, at Igorot’s Charm Café in Baguio, just across the city’s botanical garden. 

The comedian was in the Philippines as part of his “Just Being Koy” tour, which made a stop in Manila on June 21 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. 

From comedy to culture, Jo Koy continues to celebrate his Filipino identity both on stage and beyond, now permanently etched in ink by a living legend.

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