Boracay is more than just another Island and Resort by the Sea.

She was a shy island, with a secretive and secluded past hidden behind the history of time, the soil molded by the hands of a woman and her loyal peers that made the island into a paradise. The island is indeed a creation of the Almighty with a past. As history books tell stories of times past, few is ever written or told about the island's history prior to its popularity in the seventies. Many would write about it but with always the same tone - its past being shaded or unknown. Others would tell tales about how the island was discovered - film crews, German writers, backpackers. Some people considered themselves lucky for having had the time spent with the settlers and old people in Boracay. Accounts of fisherfolks and Ati indeed were mentioned. There is one account that they revealed - about who they often referred to as the "First Family" of Boracay - they were considered as among the first settlers of the island who lived among the Ati. No wonder there are Villas and Cottages named in her honor. No wonder there are structures which stood and are named in his honor. The Location: The Island belongs to the Western Visayas group and is located in the northwestern tip of Panay, in the west Visayas of Region VI, neighboring the Sibuyan Sea. The island has three major Villages namely; Yapak in the North, Balabag in the middle, and Manoc- Manoc in the south, and numerous small barrios or barangays or sitios, all linked together by a maz e of paths, labeled into five commercial stations. The Origin: The name Boracay is attributed to different origins. One story says that it is derived from the local word "borac" which means white cotton with characteristics close to the color and texture of Boracay's white sugary and powdery sand. Another credits the name to local words "bora," meaning bubbles, and "bocay," meaning white. Yet another version dating back to the Spanish era says the name is derived from "sagay," the word for shell, and "boray," the word for seed. The Language: Akeanon is predominantly spoken in Aklan. Other than Tagalog/Filipino and other local vernaculars, English is widely spoken in the island. The Livelihood: The source of living was mainly fishing. Then later farming was introduced by the local settlers so that coconut and tobacco plantation and vegetation provided for the livelihood of the Boracaynon settlers. They would trade copra with Aklan and in some parts of Luz on for rice and other goods. In the 1960s and 1970s, families from Panay and neighboring towns became frequent visitors to the island. The Settlers: Antropological studies suggests that the Ati were the original settlers in the island but interbred and/or crossbred with other people we now called the "Boracayons".
PDFmyURL.com

The couple: Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol and Sofia Ner Gonz ales They settled in the island in the 1900s when Lamberto became a Judge in Buruanga, an old name for Malay. Sofia had a small lot in the area where they constructed a small shelter. Later on, a number of islanders sold their lots to the couple, until a relatively large area was occupied by the family. It was reported by the locals and documented by the Bureau of Lands sometime in 1920 particularly by the Office of the Land Inspector in Buruanga (now Malay), District 17, that it was Lamberto who founded the barrio of Yapac in 1913, a portion of the island he bought from some islanders in addition to the already owned lot by Sofia adjoining thereto. At that time, Yapac only constituted seven houses and one barrio church. Lamberto, or Lamber as he was fondly called by the islanders, was a good provider, he worked hard to earned his own keep and to give his family a good life. Sofia, or Sofing, as she was fondly called by her fellow Boracaynons, was a green thumb, a good administratrix and a good employer. While Lamberto work, she and her workers would go around and about the island planting trees and vegetables. She was able to plant thousands of coconut trees along with corn and tobacco. Her main product was that of tobacco and copra. It was written that she was able to produce first class tobacco which were traded from all over Luz on. In 1987, she was esteemed as The Woman Behind The Greening of Boracay in The Sunday Times Magaz ine. The same was reprinted in 1998 by a local paper in Panay. It was an early demise for Lamberto. He died sometime in 1924, a year of mourning not just for the family he left behind but also for the Boracaynons. He was, to them, a father, a trustworthy Amoy and a friend. He left behind a young widow to tend their orphaned children. Despite her broken heart, she maintained that composure of a strong willed woman, continued to take care of the island, made it into something the world would call "Island Paradise." With the help of a nephew Josefino Sta Maria Tirol, Sofia was able to place her portion in the island under the Torrens System. In 1929, Sofia was granted a title in her favor and for the Heirs of Lamberto Hontiveros Tirol. At that time, Aklan was still part of Capiz , so was Malay, so that the Ordinary Registration Proceedings for Titling over Panay was lodge in the Courts of First Instance in Capiz Area. In 1931, Honorable Enrique Altavaz of the General Land Registration Office issued giving formally a torrens title over a large portion of the island. Sofia's ground work gained her the appreciation she much deserved. In 1987, in a magaz ine (The Sunday Times Magaz ine, November, 1987), an article was written about the woman behind the greening of Boracay. The article was about Sofia Ner Gonz ales. Today, the island remained to be as Sofia intended it to be: an Island Paradise. She would have wanted it the way it was: with all the coconut trees standing almost everywhere, including bended cocos that gave the island the unique scenery peculiarly exclusive to Boracay. Sadly, those trees are no longer there. Environment and legal issues beset the island. Government intervention seem to aggravate the matter. Nonetheless, Boracay remained one of the best beaches in the world. Modern Day Boracay: 1970 marks the beginning of the Modern Age of Boracay Island. Even though electricity arrived in the late 1980, visitors came pouring in, bringing along their own amenities, especially water to drink. In the early fifties, or right after the War (WWII), business, great and small, began to blossom in the island. On some parts, dirt or rocky or smooth roads gave way to paved ones. Sofia would have wanted the island to stay as it was, with millions of trees resting peacefully and happily on white sugar- coated sands of the island, with few joyous people relaxing by watching the calm and serene blue ocean touching the blue heavens... But times changed and the rest had to change with time. Some of its secrets are now in the open. Its privacy may have been lost with the deluge of visitors it attracts every year, but it doesn't seem to matter. People from all over the world continue to flock to its brilliant powdery white sands and shores and aquamarine waters.
PDFmyURL.com

Rapid growth of the Island began in 1970, and the population has grown. Today, this beautiful sea island continues to offer Visitor and Resident alike a beautiful oasis featuring miles of blue beaches, World Class golf, recreation and a renewal of spirit as one finds himself surrounded, and enriched by, the peaceful beauty of nature. Credits:Sofia Lamberto, Terrence Sheehan, Bernard Lee, Heirs of the Boracay Locals (heirs of Boracaynons (Aguirre, Sacapano, Victorio, Supretan, Archal, Ambay, Vargas, Manalo, Peroginog, and Sualog, Lamberto Tirol and Sofia Ner Gonz ales), DENR, LRA, LMB For further research: *[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boracay_History] Boracay in Pictures, then and now. *[http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/15197/denr- local- execs- vow- to- protect- boracay] DENR to initiate greening projects in Boracay *[http://www.realestatearticles.org/boracay- island- resort- in- phillipines/] Real Estate Articles *[http://onespot.wsj.com/taxes/2011/10/16/efd2d/boracay- history- recalling- its- past/] Boracay on The Wall Street Journal *[http://euroheritage.net/spanishphilippines.shtml] Boracay History * [http://theboracaychronicles.blogspot.com/] Las Cronicas de Boracay *[http://ignotus.pen.io/] Boracay Unknown History *[http://cambridge- centralasia.academia.edu/boracayisland/] Cambridge Central Asia Academic Studies *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boracay] Boracay Island *[http://www.boracaybeachrealestate.com/philippines- property- news] Only about a third of the land on Boracay has titles while the rest is occupied through tax declarations after the island resort was declared government property. *[http://rtkp.multiply.com/photos/album/3/Some_of_the_heirs_of_Don_Lamberto_and_Sofia_Tirol_on_the_island_last_2007] The Ramon Tirol Kimpo Panganiban Site *[http://www.univie.ac.at/voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/aurel/tirol.htm] History of the Tirol Surname *[http://vongut.blogspot.com/2007/02/3- kinfolks.html] Ed Roa's Blog *[http://www.doj.gov.ph/index.php?id1=1] Department of Justice *[http://www.lra.gov.ph/index.php?page=directory&title=region%206] Land Registration Authority *[http://www.emb.gov.ph/] Environmental Management Bureau *[http://www.denr.gov.ph/index.php/home.html] Department of Environment and Natural Resources *[http://www.emb.gov.ph/regions/region6/index.htm] Environmental Management Bureau Region VI An adaptation of an article about an island in Panay.pdf SC Benchmark decision.pdf

PDFmyURL.com