The Philippines' Catholic Church is heading for showdown with President Benigno Aquino over the government's plans to provide free contraceptives to residents, reports Radio Australia.
The reproductive health bill will, if passed by the two houses of Congress, guarantee access to free birth control and promote sex education.
The government says it will prevent further over population and create a more productive labour force.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad says although Mr Aquino is a Catholic, like 80 per cent of the Philippines population, the bill has his backing.
"The president has already, at the risk of alienating the church, declared that the bill is a priority," he said. "That message is very clear."
Contraceptives are generally available in the Philippines although they are not used as much as elsewhere. In the Philippines, 45-50 percent of women of reproductive age, or their partners, are using a contraceptive method at any given time.
FULL STORY Philippines contraception bill angers church (Radio Australia)