Although Yamashita had left Manila as an open city sans declaration,  Rear Admiral Iwabuchi took it upon himself to defend it. Being subject to a line of command which did not pass through Yamashita, he considered he had no obligation to follow Yamashita's orders unless ordered to do so directly by his superiors in Tokyo.  Given the state of communications to and from Tokyo, who did not have accurate appraisals of the circumstance, this was a mean artifice.  The  war in the Pacific had been a Navy war, the IJN had planned it without advising the Army, they had provisioned it, and they would run it their way. They would also end it their way. It was a recipe for tragedy. By the time Iwabuchi began to consider withdrawing, he was surrounded and s breakout in force was impossible. His command authority was also breaking down and by 23 February all communication with him ceased.