ubs for athletic exercises and
mutual improvement formed a nucleus for these bodies and the directing
boards of the popular committees took up the work of recruiting, while
some of the members became officers of the militia or sandatahan. On
January 6 the commander of militia in Trozo, Manila, reported that
1130 soldiers had been enrolled by the popular committee. On January
7 Bonifacio Arevalo forwarded to the head of the central committee a
list of the officers of the battalion which had just been organized
in Sampaloc for the defence of their liberties. Apparently about the
same time J. Limjap submitted to Sandico a project for arming the
prisoners in Bilibid Prison with the arms of the American soldiers
quartered in the Zorrilla Theatre across the street. He said:--

"'Jacinto Limjap having been proclaimed commander of the volunteers
of the penitentiary, I ask you to authorize the creation of a
disciplinary battalion and the provisional appointments of officers
for 600 sandatahan, or militia, ready to provide themselves by force
with the American rifles in the Zorrilla Theatre.'

"He followed by a statement of the officers desired. It was not
difficult for him to obtain volunteers there to rob, to burn, to
rape and to murder. These were the crimes for which they were serving
sentences. The political prisoners had been released....

"On January 18 Sandico approved of the officers for the first battalion
organized by the committees of Sampaloc; on January 27 he approved
those of the second battalion. By January 22 two battalions had
been organized in Quiapo. At least one regiment of eight companies
was raised in Binondo, for on January 23 its commander forwarded a
roll of the officers to Aguinaldo for his approval.... On January 25
T. Sandico, at Malolos, submitted for approval the names of a number of
officers of the territorial militia in the city of Manila. On January
30, 1899, a roll of four companies just organized in Malate was
forwarded approved by T. Sandico, and on the same day the committee
of Trozo, Manila, applied to T. Sandico for permission to recruit a
body for the defence of the country. The regiment of 'Armas Blancas'
had already been raised in Tondo and Binondo. It was in existence
there in December, 1898, and may have been originally organized to act
against Spain. On February 2 all officers of the territorial militia
in Manila reported at Caloocan, in accordance with orders of Sandico,
for the p