SUPPORTERS and close friends of former president Corazon Aquino were irked by rumors circulating in text messages that the former Chief Executive had succumbed to colon cancer.

Deedee Sytangco, Aquino’s spokesperson, denounced those who spread the rumors and asked the public not to believe it. She said the former president is in stable condition and resting at a private room inside the Makati Medical Center.

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“There is no truth to that and I hope whoever is behind this should just be ignored,” she said.

Instead, Sytangco asked the public to continue their prayers for the speedy recovery of Mrs. Aquino.

Sytangco's statement was echoed by Aquino’s former speechwriter and Makati Representative Teodoro Locsin, who likewise condemned the rumors.

“Those people should stop speculating about her health. What we should do is pray that she be given strength, she be given ease of pain, and that we should all stand up for what she stood for," Locsin said during Sunday’s novena mass for Mrs. Aquino’s recovery.

Other government officials close to Mrs. Aquino appealed the same.

The former leader was brought to the hospital last June 23 after complaining of loss of appetite. She had been undergoing radiation treatment for colon cancer, which was diagnosed in March 2008.

An icon of democracy, Mrs. Aquino is the country’s first woman president. She rose to power in February 1986 following the 1986 Edsa People Power revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship though her presidency was wracked by numerous coup attempts staged by disgruntled soldiers.

She has remained popular and supportive of many causes. In 2005, she joined the growing clamor for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resignation after evidence of cheating in the 2004 elections surfaced. (AH/Sunnex)