Flores called for a meeting among Cebu officials of the Philippine Republic on February 10, 1899 to discuss the war against the American forces. Clímaco was designated to the task of war preparations. By February 21, 1899, when the American forces landed in Cebu and demanded surrender, Clímaco threw support on the anti-American revolt led by General Arcadio Maxilom and traveled to Samar to gather arms. Flores, together with Julio Llorente, who would later be appointed as the first governor by the Americans, agreed to surrender the province.