Only 30 percent of adult Filipinos use birth control (AFP)

MANILA (AFP) - Only 30 percent of adult Filipinos use any form of birth control even though 96 percent believe a state family planning program will help the devoutly-Catholic nation, according to a survey.

The respected Social Weather Stations research group said that its survey, conducted in late November and early December, also found that pills were the most popular form of birth control, used by 14 percent of those who said they employed such methods or devices.

Only about five percent followed "natural" family planning methods like the rhythm and the so-called "mucus billings" method, which are allowed by the dominant Roman Catholic church, the survey said.

The survey of 1,200 adults nationwide, commissioned by the government's Department of Health, did not ask why so few adults were using birth control.

However the survey found that 96 percent of respondents believed the government's planned "door-to-door" campaign to promote family planning would help Filipino families.

Fifty-five percent of respondents also said they would be willing to purchase birth control devices on their own contrary to fears that people will not use family planning unless contraceptives are distributed to them for free.

The survey has a margin of error of three percent.

Economists and multilateral lenders have warned that the Philippines, with a population of 84 million people, faces major risks if it continues with its population growth rate of 2.3 percent, one of the highest in the world.

However the Catholic church, which counts more than 80 percent of the population as followers, has consistently opposed population control programs which involve artificial contraceptives.