On the eve of war with the United States, Spanish President Sagasta decided to name Basilio Augustin y Dávila, Governor-General of the Philippines, to head the army there, replacing General Fernando Primo de Rivera. Since Spain could not send sufficient resources to mount a defense, Augustín y Dávila attempted to mobilize pro-Spanish civilians to save Manila by establishing an advisory assembly led by Pedro A. Paterno. The assembly asked all Filipinos to support Spain, but pro-independence insurgents infiltrated the group and forced it to disband. In fact, the insurgency made resistance to the United States impossible since it hindered Spanish troop movements and claimed the loyalty of the Filipino soldiers. Ultimately Augustin tried to surrender to Commodore George Dewey at the same time the Spanish government was replacing him with Fermín Jáudenes in hopes of more vigorous prosecution of the war.
