The Spanish garrison that held out in the Philippines for nearly a year after the war ended was at Baler. Spanish soldiers defended Baler’s church for 337 days, from July 1, 1898, until June 2, 1899.
The siege began during the Philippine Revolution, as Filipino forces fought Spanish colonial rule. Cut off in a remote coastal town on Luzon, the Spanish defenders withdrew into the church when roughly 800 Filipino revolutionaries attacked. Disease, hunger, heat, and dwindling supplies proved more dangerous than combat; many defenders died from beriberi, dysentery, and fever.
The Treaty of Paris formally ended the Spanish-American War on December 10, 1898, but the isolated garrison did not believe reports that Spain had surrendered. Lieutenant Saturnino Martín Cerezo continued the defense until convincing evidence finally persuaded him to surrender. Emilio Aguinaldo ordered that the survivors be treated as friends rather than prisoners, and they became known as the “last ones of the Philippines.”