MANILA, President—Ailing former President Corazon Aquino “is happy” about the outpouring of prayers for her recovery, her spokesperson Deedee Sytangco told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Thursday morning.

“She was smiling when her daughters told her about the healing mass. She knows there’s a novena and she’s happy about it,” Sytangco said in a telephone interview before the second of nine novenas for former president.

Sytangco said Aquino also smiled when told about the prayer centers set up by Filipino communities abroad.

She said the former president’s condition remains in delicate.

Actress and television show host Kris Aquino joined her mother at the Makati Medical Center early Thursday morning.

On the other hand, when asked about Aquino’s current condition, former ombudsman Aniano Desierto said, “Our prayers are working."

Desierto visited the ailing former president morning and tried to avoid interviews as he left the hospital and boarded his car past 11 a.m.

"She's improving," Desierto said, without providing additional details.

No official update has been released on Aquino's condition Thursday. Sytangco has also not confirmed reports that Aquino has been transferred out of the intensive care unit to a regular room.

"I will have to confirm that," she said over the phone.

At noon Thursday, relatives, friends, and admirers of the 76-year-old former president will hear the second of nine healing masses at the Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel at Greenbelt 5, also in Makati City.