Ilocos city treasurer in hot water over missing funds

LAOAG CITY, Philippines – The treasurer of this city has left for Honolulu, Hawaii after P85 million was reported missing from city funds.

Elena Asuncion may face administrative and criminal charges.

The Commission on Audit (COA) said the city government’s bank accounts at the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines and Rang-ay Bank have zero balances.

State auditors said Asuncion had falsified deposit slips.

Laoag City Mayor Chevylle Fariñas said the COA and the Bureau of Local Government Finance would conduct further investigation.

 The Bureau of Immigration and Deportation confirmed that Asuncion left the country on Tuesday.

The anomaly was uncovered even as the Laoag City government was the first recipient of the International Organization for Standardization in the Ilocos Region.

ISO certification is a set of standards and requirements for the development of a quality management system commonly applied by private corporations and organizations to help ensure that the needs and expectations of customers are adequately and consistently met.