Nas Academy didn’t get Whang-Od consent in contract, investigation reveals

  MANILA – A Philippine investigation into the Nas Academy contract with Whang-Od has revealed that the company failed to get the legendary tattoo artist’s consent. Nas Academy, an online learning platform by Nas Daily, came under fire for offering an online course with the 104-year-old Filipino tattoo artist, despite her grandniece Grace Palicas saying that the artist did not consent. Findings of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR), released on Sunday (August 29) backed up Palicas’ claim. According to NCIP-CAR, Nas Academy did not “explain or discuss” provisions of the contract with Whang-Od. Singaporean law also apparently governed the contract. “Apo Whang-Od is not aware of any contract and she did not affix her thumb mark in any contract for this account,” according to NCIP-CAR in a statement on Sunday. During its investigation, the NCIP-CAR visited Whang-Od’s tribe in August and reviewed the contract that she supposedly signed. The commission said it is ready to help Whang-Od and her community should they decide to pursue legal action against Nas Academy. Cultural traditions, including tribal tattooing, is protected under Philippine law and tribal consent is required in any contract on the matter. Nas Academy earlier claimed they got Whang-Od’s consent to feature her traditional tattoo art in an online course, and posted a video showing the artist affixing her thumbprint on a piece of paper. Nas Academy has since taken down Whang-Od’s tattooing course from its website following an online backlash that also led to its creator Nas Daily losing hundreds of thousands of subscribers who said he exploited Filipinos and their culture. The NCIP-CAR report found the Nas Academy contract “grossly onerous”, saying the academy took full rights on the content, “inclusive of the right to alteration and the right to assign and transfer the same without content.” The commission also questioned the authenticity of the thumbmark affixed onto the contract, saying it is now the subject of further forensic study. The NCIP-CAR also pointed out that the online course threatened to make the traditional tattoo art “generic and thus it would lose it authenticity of cultural meaning.” “The online platform can also lead to the demise of their culture-driven tourism industry,” the NCIP-CAR added. CAM/Expat Media ALSO READ: Ugly truth about Nas Daily: Filipina says vlogger exploited Filipinos
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