All eyes on Bayag National High School as school name goes viral online

Netizens share jokes over Iloilo campus name while others call for respect for students and community.

As students return to school this week, one campus in Iloilo is once again drawing online attention.

Bayag National High School, located in the municipality of Leon, has gone viral on social media after users began sharing photos of the school’s name and joking about its unintended double meaning in Filipino slang.

The school takes its name from Barangay Bayag Sur and is situated along its boundary with Bayag Norte. While the place name predates the school itself, many social media users could not resist making puns and humorous remarks because of the word’s colloquial association with male anatomy in Filipino usage.

Amid the jokes, however, some Filipinos urged netizens to be more mindful of the students and teachers connected to the school.

One commenter pointed out that while many may find the name amusing, students could also come across the online remarks and feel discouraged by the attention. School officials also reminded users that the school was simply named after its barangay and that the community deserves the same respect afforded to any other educational institution.

Founded in 2014, Bayag National High School serves learners from the surrounding area. Earlier this year, around a hundred junior and senior high school students, proudly calling themselves “Bayagians,” participated in the school’s commencement exercises.