The latest Pulse Asia Survey concluded just before the 2007 elections showed an overwhelming majority of Filipinos (92%) believe it is important to mitigate fertility and plan their family.
Moreover, nearly 9 in 10 Filipinos (89%) think that government should allocate funds for modern methods of family planning like pills, IUDs, condoms, ligation and vasectomy.
The ethnic groups that strongly support the idea of government spending for modern contraceptives are Bicolanos (96%) and Kapampangans (95%). Interestingly, both groups are considered the most religious in the Philippines.
The majority of the same ethnic groups disagreed with the proposition that the church or religion should participate in the issue of what methods couples should use in family planning.
A whopping 90% of all the Roman Catholics surveyed also declared their support for state subsidy of modern contraceptives vigorously prohibited by the Catholic Church.
The results of these surveys are instructive even as they are revealing. If the Catholic Church wants to continue to become significant in the lives of the faithful, they must listen to their flock or risk becoming irrelevant.
The State of the Philippine Population Report (2nd Report. Pinoy Youth: Making Choices, Building Voices) also reveals that 90% of the youth believe that the government should provide family planning services and 80% believe that these services should be provided to the youth.