Whatever happened to Balicasag Island? As our boat sped through the clear turquoise waters, expectations were tempered but far from dim. A zoomed-in photo taken from the plane the day before showed a number of boats lined up along the beach, a stark difference from when we practically had the island to ourselves back in 2006. But it has been almost two decades since we took our advanced open water diving certification there (barely escaping the small island before Typhoon “Milenyo” hit only a few hours later), after all. Realistically speaking, more tourists would know about the island by now, especially those coming in from colder climes this time of the year.

De Villa, N. V. (2025, January 5). The two sides of marine tourism in Bohol. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. C6.