The Catholic church will support the administration of newly elected president Benigno Aquino III, and hopes that he will make good on his promise for change, the news arm of the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines  said recently.

CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar issued the statement on its website.  Aquino was proclaimed president by the Philippine Congress yesterday and already faces a number of areas of concern that the CBCP has raised this past week.

The CBCP has asked Aquino to impose a moratorium on mining even as they support an alternative mining bill that is now being pushed in congress, in order to prioritize the environment and human rights, according to Business Mirror.

The CBCP has also urged Aquino to abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund of congress, which they say has been one of the biggest sources of government corruption in the country, according to GMA News.

The PDAF, or erstwhile “pork barrel” is supposed to be used by lawmakers to fund development projects which they believe merit priority.  Every year each congressman gets 70 million pesos, while a senator gets 200 million pesos, GMA News said.

However, the CBCP felt that congress should focus on making laws and allow governors and mayors to handle the building of roads and schools. Removing the PDAF may eliminate 50 percent of corruption, according to GMA News.

A second issue raised by the CBCP is the Reproductive Health bill, which they fear Aquino strongly advocates. The RH bill advocates the use of both natural and artificial contraceptives, the latter of which goes against Catholic teaching, GMA News said.

The bill proposes reproductive health education for students from grade 5, and will permit government purchase of contraceptives to be included with the medicine and supplies of state hospitals, GMA News said.

The bill has long been pending in Congress, and adding to church anxieties is the possible retention of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral under Aquino. It was noted that even without passage of the bill, Cabral would be able to strongly promote the use of condoms and pills, GMA News said.

Aquino is the son of the late Corazon Aquino, the former president who spearheaded the peaceful EDSA revolution that ended the 20-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos and returned democracy to the country.

His father, Benigno Aquino Jr. , was assassinated upon his return from exile in 1983, and is also loved by many Filipinos, CNN said.

A staunch supporter of Corazon Aquino during the EDSA days and throughout her presidency was the late Cardinal Sin, who rallied the largely catholic Philippine majority to her support.