COA investigates P85 million missing from Laoag treasury

By Freddie G. Lazaro

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — Some P85 million of city government funds is missing and agents of the Commission on Audit (COA) and Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) have arrived here to investigate the matter.

Laoag City Mayor Chevylle Fariñas confirmed that the fund missing from government coffers was discovered by city accountant and the investigation has centered on City Treasurer Elena Asuncion.

The COA has established that the city government’s bank accounts in the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and Rang-ay Bank have zero balance as of June 15.

Right before the controversy broke out, Asuncion reportedly fled for Honolulu, Hawaii a day earlier.

Fariñas said that what he knows, so far, is that government auditors found out that Asuncion had allegedly falsified deposit slips for the bank accounts of the city government in the three banks.

Apparently, this had been going on since 2007.

Fariñas has already issued a memorandum for Asuncion to explain what happened to the missing funds and requested the Bureau of Immigration in Pangasinan to put local treasurer on its watchlist.