It shocks me when I go to the Philippines and see how the Catholic church has made condoms far from the norm. It is very common there not to use them. The result is babies they can't afford to support, a social support system that isn't first world. It leads to a lot of needless suffering.
In a rich country like the USA, another factor could simply be that people don't plan against having kids because they can afford to have them. Some have an attitude that they are not specifically planning or trying to have a kid right away, but if they do, then that's a nice surprise.
And divorce is still illegal in the PI.
I had shore duty there assisting people with their passport/visa requirements. It pained me when a service member would come in with his Filipina spouse/fiancée to submit their documents and she had a child, possibly from a previous marriage to a Filipino. I would coach them without assuming anything. Just keep claiming that is your child shipmate. No matter what. The truth will be your undoing. They want you to lie to them. The couple would listen intently.
Worse still was when we would bring back a list of approved visa applications once a week. Occasionally, we would bring back a letter or two. I knew what these letters were: Your wife is legally married to some deadbeat in some remote province who ran out on his family and thus, her visa is denied. At this point, all I could do was ask them to open the letter outside and deal directly with the embassy from here on out.
Still the best job I ever had. I'd like to think my coaching got more than a few kids into the states with mom and
dad.
