NAS Academy finally issued a statement after being called out by Whang Od’s grandniece Grace Palicas.
It can be recalled that in Grace’s social media account, she warned the public over a Nas Academy course related to Whang Od. The said post of Grace caught the attention of netizens as it went viral. Later on, NAS Daily took down the ‘Whang-od Academy’ course.
“WARNING!!! Whang Od Academy is a scam. My grandmother did not sign any contract with @NasDaily to do any academy. Some people are taking advantage of our culture. PLEASE HELP US STOP this disrespect to the legacy of Apo Whang Od and the Butbot Tribe.” Grace wrote on her post.
In the official Facebook account of NAS Academy, they posted a short video as they addressed the said controversy.
“Dear Philippines!
There has been a post circulating online regarding our beloved Whang-Od Academy. The post claims that Whang-Od has no knowledge of the Academy and that this is a scam.
As a company, we have been champions of the Philippines from Day 1, so this makes us very sad to hear. Let us set the record straight.
We approached Whang-Od because just like you, we love her. We love her traditions, and are inspired by her. We wanted to share her culture for future generations to appreciate and respect the ancient Kalinga tradition of mambabatok. So we pitched her family the idea of creating Whang-Od Academy.
Her and her family present both loved this idea, and have worked WITH US to build it, with Whang-Od teaching herself. As a matter of fact, Whang-Od’s trusted niece, Estella Palangdao, was present and translated the content of the contract prior to Whang-Od affixing her thumbprint, signifying her full consent to the project. This is the clearest evidence that it is not a scam and achieved the consent of her and her immediate family.
Everybody was compensated for their time, and for every sale the Whang-Od Academy generates, most of it went directly to her and her family. We just provided the technology and the marketing.
So naturally, when we saw the falsehoods circulating online, we were sad.
The truth is often times not as simple as a “tweet”. And online falsehoods can be dangerous. Out of respect for her family, we temporarily took down Whang-Od Academy while we resolve any issues that have arisen from these falsehoods.
40% of Nas Academy is made up of Filipinos. So for us, this is personal. We care deeply about the Philippines and respect the many cultures and traditions that exist across the country. And we have all come together to make the world a better place.
Thank you for supporting our mission!” NAS Academy wrote in the caption.
(Photo source: Instagram – @apowhangod)
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