WASHINGTON — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has signed an executive order directing government agencies to provide contraception to 6 million Filipino women who don’t have access to birth control and other reproductive-health services.

The executive order implements landmark legislation signed by Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, which was fiercely fought by abortion-rights advocates, ‘‘recognizes the right of Filipinos to decide freely and responsibly on their desired number and spacing of children,’’ according to the order signed Monday.

Duterte has ordered several government agencies, including education and health departments, to implement policies and mechanisms designed to meet the RPRH Act requirements. These include a ‘‘gender-sensitive’’ sexuality education in the school curriculum, health insurance benefit packages for women, and on-the-ground education campaigns.

But the government’s efforts will likely face strong resistance from the Catholic Church. About 80 percent of the country’s population is Roman Catholic, according to the last census of the National Statistics Office in 2010.

After the law was signed in December 2012, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which staunchly opposed the bill in Congress, sought to invalidate it in court. But in 2014, the Supreme Court found the controversial law, except for a few sections, to be constitutional, GMA News reported.