 This Provisional Government ruled and protected Basilan until the military representatives of the United States Government took formal possession of the island on December 8, 1899.By 1898, Basilan Island was administratively divided into three districts, i.e., (1) Isabela de Basilan (capital), (2) Lamitan, and (3) Maluso.Spain ceded the Philippine islands to the United States in the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish–American War.