Lamberto H. Tirol, son of Solomon D. Tirol and Vivencia Hontiveros, founded the island now known as "Boracay". Unknown to many, he and his wife Sofia Ner Gonzales (often referred to as the "Greener of Boracay" as featured in The Sunday Times Magazine, November 8, 1987) contently owned a large portion of Boracay Island in the early 1900s, and lived in the island with few fisherfolks and hired help. The island was formerly called "Buracay", and the municipality where it stands now, Malay, was formerly called "Balabag".

Don Lamberto H. Tirol was once a Mayor, one of the early executives of Makato (1901-1920) who later on became a Judge of Buruanga, at different times. Records likewise shows that he was once a Notary Public in Western Visayas and among the sole three Notaries granted commission for the whole region. He died at the age of fourty four, while his wife Sofia Ner Gonzales often referred to as Sofing lived to be a hundred and ten.

At present a number of structures exist in the island bearing the names of the couple. One structure is a public school carrying the name of Lamberto H. Tirol. A lot of resorts, hotels and villas on the other hand bear the name of Sofia Ner Gonzales. This only goes to prove that the people in the island honors that legacy left by Lamber and Sofing, as they were fondly called by the natives, - the legacy of having built the greatest progressive empire in Philippine History - Boracay, once called the Haven of the Herederos de Lamberto Tirol y Sofia Ner Gonzales, Island paradise, Philippines.

Source: Microfilm of Manuscripts in the Records Management and Archives Office, National Library, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines

© Herederos de LAMBERTO Hontiveros TIROL Y SOFIA NER GONZALES

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