Thirty-six for every 100 married women were using modern family planning (FP) method in 2006, according to the 2006 Family Planning Survey. This is the same as the previous year's rate of modern contraceptive use. The contraceptive prevalence rate or the proportion of women using any FP method was 50.6 percent in 2006 compared to 49.3 percent in 2005. This observed difference is not statistically significant (Table 1).

The pill remains the most preferred method of contraception. It was used by 16.6 percent of married women in 2006. The next most commonly used method is ligation or female sterilization (10.4 percent). Withdrawal was reported as the FP method for 7.3 percent of married women, calendar method, 7.0 percent, and IUD, 4.1 percent. Modern natural family planning methods, which includes Mucus/Billing/Ovulation, Lactational Amenorrhea Method, and Standard Days Method were used by 0.3 percent of married women. There was a higher prevalence of female sterilization in urban areas than in rural areas (Table 2).

Of the 17 regions, those with the highest CPR were Central Luzon (58.9 percent), Cagayan Valley (58.6 percent), Southern Mindanao (57.2 percent), and Northern Mindanao (55.4 percent). On the use of modern FP methods, Cagayan Valley was on top of all regions while ARMM was the last and Bicol Region second to last (Table 3).

The practice of family planning depends on the woman's age, education and socio-economic standing. Contraceptive use was highest among married women at ages 35 to 39 years (58.2 percent) and was lowest at ages 15 to 19 years (23.3 percent). Four in ten (39.1 percent) married women in the oldest age group (45 to 49 years) were still using contraceptives in 2006 (Table 4).

Married women with some elementary education were less likely to practice FP than women with higher level of education. Those with no education were the least likely to practice it. Two out of 10 women with no grade completed, and four out of 10 with some elementary education practice FP. By comparison, at least five out of 10 women having higher level of education practice FP.

Use of FP method among women belonging to non-poor households was higher than among those belonging to poor households (52.4 percent versus 47.3 percent). The difference is mainly due to the higher prevalence of female sterilization among non-poor women than poor women.

The 2006 FPS also revealed a significant shift in sources of pills and condoms from the public sector to private sector. The private sector provided most recent supply of pills to 56.6 percent of users of this method in 2006 compared to 46.5 percent in 2005. The private sector was also the most recent source of condom for 82.7 percent of women in 2006 compared to 73.7 percent in 2005 Table 5).

The 2006 FPS is the tenth in a series of family planning surveys conducted nationwide by the NSO since 1995. About 46,000 women were interviewed for the 2006 FPS. Funding assistance was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and the United Nations Children�s Fund (UNICEF).

These are some of the major findings from the 2006 FPS. Other important findings will be presented during the Data Dissemination Forum on the results of the 2006 FPS on May 3, 2007 at the Imperial Palace Suites in Quezon City.