Fil-Am designer overjoyed as Apo Whang-Od wears her donated eyeglasses

NEW YORK CITY — A Hawaii-based Filipino-American designer was ecstatic after seeing Apo Whang-Od, the last traditional Kalinga tattooist, wearing the eyeglasses she gave her during her visit to the Philippines last year.

Apo Whan-Od, whose real name is Maria Oggay, wore the glasses when she was honored by President Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. at Malacañang last week for her contributions to Philippine traditional arts.

According to Iris Viacrucis, it was the second time she saw 106-year-old Apo Whang-Od wearing the reading glasses she had bought for just $10, the first one being during a photoshoot for a magazine cover.

Talking to GMA Integrated News, Viacrucis said she went to Kalinga to search for local fabric she could use in her clothing designs and decided to meet with Apo Whang-Od for a tattoo session.

“After she tattooed me, I asked her, ‘Apo, what souvenir would you like?’ She gestured towards me, so I rummaged through my bag and found them. I said, ‘Here, Manang, try these on, see if they’re okay.’ She wore them, then she took a piece of paper and read it. She said, ‘This is beautiful.’ Then she looked at everyone waiting for her, and they all said, ‘Oh, Apo’s glasses are beautiful.’ Because the frame was blue, she said, ‘Can I have this instead?’,” Viacrucis said.

“It was delightful, it was heartwarming, like, ‘Oh my God, Apo is really using them’,” she added.

Viacrucis said she is planning to visit Apo Whang-Od again in May and bring an eye doctor with her to give the noted traditional tattooist the correct prescription for her glasses.

“Apo, I hope to see you again in May. I’ll bring an eye doctor to have your eyes checked and to give you better glasses with your correct prescription so you can see everything,” she said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News