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About this site


Welcome to Boholanalysis.

Some years ago, I wrote that Boholanalysis is where we discuss Bohol, not the way politicians would like to describe it, and certainly not the way tourism promoters would label the island.
This blog is not about the negative side of Bohol. It is a blog that talks about Bohol, critically, beyond the conventional labels. It is a blog about issues in Bohol and how a citizen like you, or me, views it, from a rather uninvolved and objective lens. It is a blog about Bohol without the hypocrisy, without the hype, absent the intended colors.

Back then, Boholanalysis is a site that discusses issues about Bohol and its implications to wider development debates in the country, region, or the world.  Since its establishment in 2007, this has been the core of Boholanalysis posts and it has triggered several discussions on key developments in the province.

In 2020, Boholanalysis reinvents itself as a blog that talks about Bohol through the lens of its people. It will feature key personalities in Bohol that has made a significant difference to the economic, cultural, political, social, and environmental growth of a province.  


Boholanalysis is a personal blog of Michael Canares, a Boholano based in Tagbilaran City.  He is  a Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program fellow and a development worker from the Philippines. His current preoccupation is development research on issues as poverty, sustainable development, and local politics.

Popular posts from this blog

5 Things To Love about Joseph Gara's Songs

- Full disclaimer here – I am a huge Joseph Gara fan. I saw him for the first time in a wedding party of a dear friend, unmindfully singing as guests were entering the ballroom of a hotel. Apart from his guitar, he was his own prop, tucked neatly at one side of the stage, almost unseen as a massive bouquet of giant white lilies and carnations stood beside his guitar stand.   Right there and then I thought that this guy would go places, because it was quite clear that he liked his music, and while he sang covers of popular acoustic ballads, he seemed to claim them as his own, making the music sound fresh, and the words as if they were freshly minted.   I am an avid spectator of his shows – at South Palms Resort ,   one of our favourite staycation spots in Bohol, where he seemed to be a regular; at the many weddings that he was contracted to serenade; at the many cultural events in the province where he was a part of or was the sole reason for its convening.   I also follow

Bohol opens up further, but are we ready?

March 3 marks the beginning of the Provincial Government of Bohol’s restrained abandonment of strict entry measures to incoming travellers. The lengthy text of the policy that you can find here relaxes the several requirements imposed in prior months regarding travellers entering the province.   Very briefly,   it just means less stringent protocols for visitors and returning residents to allow the economy to recover.         I agree that the economy has suffered significantly.   Our research , even when it only covers the city of Tagbilaran, the provincial capital, indicates that at the height of the implementation of strict community quarantine protocols, at least 5,154 jobs were either temporarily or permanently lost.   Undoubtedly, this figure was higher province-wide.   The visual signs are also evident. If you go to Tawala , that tourism strip in Panglao Island, on a Friday night, the area resembles a ghost town of dark and closed buildings, save for a few establishments which

3 Reasons Why I am Worried about Education During this Pandemic

  The last four weeks or so, we have seen how the delivery of basic education has shifted significantly from face-to-face to a myriad of forms, masked by fancy labels as synchronous (e.g. fully online, virtual classes), blended (e.g. a mix of online and face to face instructions allowed only in specific contexts), and distance modular (e.g. learner-paced learning based on scheduled learning modules, done either through paper or web-based learning management systems). There have been significant apprehensions from different people, including parents such as myself.  Firstly, there is the problem of weak internet connectivity.   We all know that the technological infrastructure is not ready for a fully online learning delivery. There have been serious complaints in the past three years on the inability of telecommunications companies to deliver on their promised connection speed.  Based on statistics, our country has one of the slowest internet speed across the Asia Pacific .  Second, we