Former president Corazon Aquino is "doing very well" after undergoing the first series of chemotherapy sessions in her battle against colon cancer, family members said Sunday.

During the "Mass for Truth" in Tondo, Manila led by Senate witness Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Sunday, Jiggy Aquino-Cruz, the former president's eldest grandson, told the media about her present condition.

"She is improving. Her blood cell counts are improving as well, plus her appetite is coming back," Cruz said.

Even if his grandmother is not with them during the Mass, Aquino's grandson said her words of wisdom serves as their guide.

"I won't fail her in her expectations of me. I'll continue the campaign even without her," Aquino's grandson said.

Cruz and another Aquino grandson, Eldon, served as the former president's representatives in the event.

Lozada, whose main supporters include Mrs. Aquino, also said that he misses her presence.

Black propaganda mars Mass

The Mass Sunday, led by the ZTE-NBN scandal whistleblower, was not spared from black propaganda, since the church was full of people.

A paper circulated among the churchgoers, which contained an article about an alleged multi-million-peso corruption issue involving Lozada, and criticisms about the priests and nuns supporting him.

The article, however, neither had an author nor indications of any group behind it.

On Saturday, hundreds of prisoners from a Cebu prison also ciricized Lozada with a dance.

Interviewed Sunda, Lozada, however, said the people criticizing him are only exercising their rights.

"It's OK. It's their right. Let them be, because if I get jailed, I'll dance for them too," he said, referring to the prisoners.

Lozada ended his day with a meeting with residents of Payatas, Quezon City around 4 p.m., where he talked with them about corruption.

Kris reveals Cory's condition

It was the former president's actress-television host daughter, Kris, who revealed about her mother's condition last week.

Kris said her mother underwent several tests after being hospitalized for high blood pressure last December.

"Our mom wanted to know what was wrong with her, and with her family by her side, she submitted herself to a check-up and several tests. The results showed that our mother is suffering from cancer of the colon," Kris told ABS-CBN chief correspondent Korina Sanchez.

Kris said the former president started losing her appetite last December despite being a healthy eater. "She likes to eat fruits and vegetables. We just want to emphasize that throughout our lives, she's never been sick. The time we brought her to the hospital last Christmas was the first time," she said.

"She lost 10 pounds in a span of about two weeks," she added.

Kris also revealed that her maternal grandmother was diagnosed with the same condition and had to undergo treatment in Boston.

According to Dr. Armand Crisostomo, a colorectal surgeon and president of the Philippine College of Surgeons, colon and rectal cancer are the 3rd and 4th leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the country.

Aquino, widow of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr., became president of the Philippines after the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. She was selected Time Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986 and is a recipient of the 1998 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding.

She is recognized as one of the World's Elite Women Who Make a Difference by the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame of 2005. With a report from Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News

A top government official reiterated Monday that American troops are not building any permanent structure and are not engaged in military combat in Mindanao amid reports saying otherwise.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said US troops who participate in annual military exercises and humanitarian programs stay in a Philippine facility.

Ang kinalulugaran nila ay Philippine facility kung saan dumadating sila pwede nilang gamitin at kung may itayo man sila doon na hindi naman permanent structure pwede nilang iwanan para sa atin, Teodoro said in an interview on ABS-CBNs Umagang Kay Ganda.

The defense chief said the structures put up by the US troops can easily be taken down.

He added that the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement allow the conduct of, among others, military exercises, humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the country. He said these approved activities would last a maximum of three to four months.

Teodoro also denied the claim of Mindanao State University Prof. Octavio Dinampo that American forces are helping the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its operations against rebels in the south.

Hindi sumasama sa operations yan at yan ay tinututulan ko ang sinasabi lalong lalo na ni Professor Dinampo sa isang pahayagan ngayong umaga. Tinututulan ko yan at hindi talaga sila sumasama sa operations, he said.

Quoting Dinampo, reports said a US spy plane helped Filipino soldiers on the ground in its operations against the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Dinampo was one of those kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in June along with ABS-CBN News team led by senior correspondent Ces Drilon.