. >> reporter: esperanza cabral, a former health secretary of the philippines, has been sounding the alarm on the population crisis here, a population growing fastest among the poorest filipinos, those whose need for birth control is the greatest. >> for the poor among us, it is often an aspiration, something they want to do but are not able to do. >> reporter: dr. silvia de la paz says teen pregnancies are at an all-time high. >> with the lack of contraceptives, so what else will they do? have babies-- more and more babies, you know. so it's a sad picture. >> reporter: for years the u.n. has urged the philippine government to take action, to provide free contraception and family planning for the poor. recent surveys indicate eight in ten filipinos now agree. but the philippines' most powerful institution, the roman catholic church, has fought family planning policies every time they are raised. in a country where more than 80% are practicing catholics, the church has dominated nearly every aspect of life in the philippines for more than 400 years, it's moral authority and political