Malacañang today said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo does not need special powers from Congress to address the serious fiscal problems of the government since she already has sufficient powers to deal with the situation.

This was the reaction of Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye to the proposed special powers for the President to enable her to tackle the ballooning budget deficit and government borrowings.

Bunye admitted that the country’s fiscal "situation was extraordinary and this calls for an extraordinary solution. We hope that all the parties concerned – the legislature, all agencies of the government as well as the LGUs (local government units) would contribute to the solution of the problem."

"We’re saying we need tough solutions to this extraordinary problem," Bunye, asserting, however, that there was no need for special powers for the President to lead the country out of its current fiscal woes.

The presidential spokesman also assured the nation that the President does not intend to declare a so-called "economic martial law."

He stressed that the government is on top of the fiscal situation, and the President is working on various strategies to overcome the problem in close coordination with Congress.