Prime Minister of the Philippines
On December 10, 1898, on the other hand, the war between United States and Spain was concluded with Spain giving up all rights to Cuba and surrendering the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. Two days later, Aguinaldo ordered his lawyer Felipe Agoncillo to contest the Philippine status as an independent nation and no longer a Spanish colony since the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898. However, the United States did not recognize Philippine sovereignty and announced their interest to annex the country by January 1899. This brought into serious foreign conflict when the Republic was formally established in January 23 at Malolos. By January 30, Aguinaldo resent Agoncillo, this time to the United States Senate, so as to reconsider their plans to annex the country and instead formally recognize Filipino independence.
Tirad Pass: The Last Stand of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar
By the end of 1898, most of the country has fallen to American and Filipino forces and Aguinaldo has declared Philippine independence in his home province of Cavite. But this is ignored by both the Spanish and American authorities, and Spain formally surrenders the Philippines to the United States alone through the Treaty of Paris.