Despite strong opposition of the Catholic Church against its passage, a considerable majority of Filipinos are in favor of the Reproductive Health bill, according to the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey released Monday.

In an October 2008 Ulat ng Bayan survey, Pulse Asia found that 63 percent of Filipinos expressed support for the Reproductive Health bill, with 68 percent of respondents saying that they are aware of the proposed legislation.

Around 29 percent of respondents are ambivalent on the matter, while only eight percent of the respondents are not in favor of the bill.

Those who did not support the bill in its entirety, however, said that they are in favor of its specific provisions such as choice of family method to use (69 percent).

An overwhelming majority of respondents (76 to 91 percent) across geographic areas and socio-economic classes said that government should teach couples regarding modern methods of family planning, with 82 percent saying that proper services and materials should also be provided.

Four out of ten Filipinos, or 44 percent, said that the government should pass a law specifying the number of children couples are allowed to have. However, 35 percent said they are not inclined to the idea, while 19 percent are undecided.

Pulse Asia said that 84 to 99 percent of its respondents highlighted the importance of family planning, with 49 percent of Filipinos saying that couples should follow what religion tells them.

The nationwide survey covered 1,200 representative adults from classes A to E. Pulse Asia said that their survey has a +/- 3 percent error at the 95 percent confidence level.

Factors considered during the period when the survey was conducted include the global financial crisis, the US presidential elections, the filing of a new impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, the Supreme Court decision on the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, and the euro generals controversy.

Other issues taken into account include the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, the deportation of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante, the decline of oil prices in the world market, and the melamine scare in china.