BANGKOK?Cash-strapped Philippine banks will benefit from the $120-billion fund to be provided by the Asean and its partners Japan, Korea and China, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said here Tuesday.

He said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its partners had agreed to relax the rules for the Chiang Mai Initiative, and that would result in including the recapitalization of financial institutions to help them ride the global economic slowdown.

?We will be able to tap it to address potential balance-of-payments and liquidity concerns,? Teves said.

?The latter may be in the form of fiscal deficit and the need to recapitalize financial institutions, among others.?

The region?s finance ministers also adopted a Philippine proposal to increase the percentage of the fund that could be disbursed quickly to 50 percent from 20 percent, Teves said.

At least 14 Philippine rural banks have shut down as of December, with the result that the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. is now being swamped with claims by over 135,000 depositors.

Teves said the $120-billion fund was enough to ensure the 1997 Asian financial crisis would not be repeated.

?We believe it is adequate for the time being. The details of the fund will be worked out by the Asean secretariat in subsequent meetings,? he said. Joyce Pangco Pa?ares