MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the creation of an inter-agency council that will govern the adoption of Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB) approach for livelihood and employment programs, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). In a news release Wednesday, the PCO said Marcos designated Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma to lead the inter-agency council for PCB. The creation of the council was proposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and was approved by the President during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday, the PCO said. The PCB focuses on efficiently managing government resources on key programs and projects which shall be coordinated in a holistic approach across departments or agencies. 'What we are trying to do is to cut out the duplications,' Marcos said, as quoted by the PCO news release. 'I know there is a need for this. It's just a question of getting it right." The PCB will look at the budget requirement for the livelihood and employment of the beneficiaries so that no duplication is made. The DBM has conducted a rapid assessment of existing livelihood, employment, feeding programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) and the propriety of the rationalization and integration of the same. Results of the rapid assessment pointed to the adoption of the PCB to rationalize various government livelihood and employment programs, as well as to avoid overwhelming a single focal agency in implementing employment and livelihood PAPs. Source: Philippines News Agency