The Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, signed an executive order this month calling for the full and immediate enforcement of a 2012 law that would give six million women free government-distributed contraception and reproductive health services.

But the order was also Mr. Duterte’s latest jab at the Roman Catholic Church, which wields significant power in the Philippines and has fought for years to keep the law from taking effect.

Under the law, government agencies will provide modern family planning services, including free contraceptives and prenatal care to all women and families. The measure also mandates that sex education be taught in schools and that companies offer reproductive health services to their employees.

But the law, which took more than 13 years to be passed by Congress before being signed into law in 2012, has yet to fully take effect, a testament to the power of the Catholic Church, anti-contraception groups and allied lawmakers.