ILOILO CITY?The province of Cebu has donated P10 million in assistance to six provinces that were seriously affected by typhoon ?Frank?.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday turned over P3 million to Iloilo, P2 million each to Antique and Aklan, and P1 million each to Leyte, Romblon and Biliran during a meeting with four of the governors of the six provinces here.

The assistance was received by Governors Niel Tupas Sr. (Iloilo), Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez (Antique) Rogelio Espina (Biliran) and Carlito Marquez (Aklan) ) during a dinner meeting.

?It has been a policy of Cebu always to help our neighboring provinces,? Garcia said in an interview on the sidelines of the of a meeting of the Visayas Regional Development Committee (RDCOM) here.

Garcia heads the RDCOM which is composed of heads of Regional Development Councils including the chairperson, vice chairperson and regional director of the National Economic Development Authority.

Garcia said the assistance was given even as Cebu was also affected by the typhoon especially its northern areas.

Garcia said Cebu also bore the biggest number of casualties as around 400 dead and missing from the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars which sank off Romblon Island on June 21 were Cebuanos.

The provinces were identified as recipients of the assistance based on the number of casualties and extent and degree of damage to crops and infrastructure.

?Frank? ravaged most of Western Visayas with Panay Island experiencing the worst flooding ever. All provinces in Panay were declared calamity areas.

The six provinces accounted for 153 fatalities, according to data of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Around 430,245 families were affected and 61,698 houses destroyed in these areas. Damage to infrastructure reached P473,568,220 and agriculture to P28,301,600.

The governors expressed their gratitude during the dinner meeting.

?We are very grateful. We did not ask for this help but it came,? said Governor Perez.

Governor Marquez of Aklan, the hardest hit province said he felt ?ecstatic? about the help.

?We welcome the help and thank the people of Cebu,? said Marquez.

?This is an unexpected but very welcome surprise,? said Tupas.

In the meantime, Cebu will host a Visayas-wide summit on climate change and an arts festival.

In separate resolutions, day, the RDCOM unanimously chose Cebu to host the two activities at an unspecified date.

?(Typhoon) 'Frank' woke us up about climate change,? said Perez, chair of the RDC in Western Visayas.

Calbayog City Mayor Mel Sarmiento, RDC chair in Eastern Visayas, said the summit would also be a venue to showcase best practices in mitigating the impact of climate change.