MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Saturday assured more improvements at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) – Terminal 1 once rehabilitation work is finished. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, however, said the rehabilitation of the airport would have to take sometime because it cannot be shut down while undergoing renovation. “The rehabilitation of NAIA 1 will be under way and we expect to see improvements because of that rehabilitation,” she said. “We cannot rush the rehabilitation, and we are just starting the renovation. It will indeed take some time,” she said. (Madel R. Sabater)

Arroyo Treatment

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte on Saturday said Malacañang is on the same page with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on his call for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be treated with civility and dignity. But Valte said it is up to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to determine the detention arrangement for the former president. Valte said it was President Benigno S. Aquino III himself who ordered that Arroyo be treated with respect. The poll body has asked the Pasay Regional Trial Court to order the transfer of Arroyo, who is now at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, to an ordinary jail once her doctors at Veterans report that her condition has improved. (JC Bello Ruiz)

Marikina Run

MARIKINA CITY — An advocacy run for a clean and safe drinking water will be held Sunday in the city. The Philippine Water Run (PWR) starts at 6 a.m. and will run from SM Marikina then along the banks of the Marikina River. The Philippine Water Runs’ “Water is Life” program aims to help the Filipinos have clean and safe drinking water as part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal. The advocacy run was first held in Vigan and Naga. Aside from Marikina, the project shall also be held in Quezon City, Laguna Lake, Cebu, and Davao. (Madelynne Dominguez)

Palparan Sightings

Malacañang on Saturday renewed its call to the public to report to law enforcement agencies any sighting of fugitive General Jovito Palparan. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it is not enough to tell neighbors if Palparan has been sighted because he is being hunted by authorities. “Please help the law enforcement agencies by reporting. If you have any information, if you have seen General Palparan, please do let your law enforcement authorities know about it,” Valte said. “Let us remember that there is a bounty for his capture,” she added. (Madel R. Sabater)

Advocacy Run

The Philippine Bible Society (PBS) will spearhead a running event to support its Bible campaign on March 3, Saturday, at 5 a.m. at the Rizal Park in Manila. The “May They Be One Bible” run is part of a nationwide campaign to bring five million copies of the Bible to five million poor Filipino families in seven years. The proceeds of the activity will be used to fund the production of Bibles. A nationwide survey by the PBS showed that 60 percent of Filipino families do not have a copy or access to a Bible. The “May They Be One Bible” campaign is a joint project of the PBS with such groups as the Episcopal Commission for Bible Apostolate, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, and Chinese Congress Center on Word Evangelization Fellowship Phils., Inc. (Christina I. Hermoso)