New contraceptives law exposes Philippine church's waning sway

A picture of Pope Benedict XVI is shown on an electric signboard outside the Roman Catholic Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in downtown Manila today. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III last month signed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. The law that provides state funding for contraceptives for the poor pitted the dominant Roman Catholic Church in an epic battle against the popular Aquino and his followers.