City Treasurer Elena Asuncion has left the country for Hawaii after millions of funds went missing from Laoag City's bank accounts.

LAOAG CITY – More than P85 million in government funds of Laoag City deposited in several bank accounts have gone missing.

Mayor Chevylle Fariñas has confirmed the report regarding the loss of P85 million from the city government's bank accounts.

Fariñas said the missing funds were discovered after the city government adopted new guidelines on checking available funds of local government units.

"Ang direktiba ay dapat hindi lamang mag-rely sa mga inililibro o mga entry ng tresurerya, so kailangan ma-check sa mga bangko as to the veracity of time deposits," Fari?as explained.

It was also discovered that the city treasurer, Elena Asuncion, had allegedly been falsifying papers and deposit slips.

"Time deposits, dito namin nakita discrepancies and some savings account which ang kanyang inirereport, dinedepositohan. But we found out that these accounts were non-existent," Fariñas said.

City treasurer Elena Asuncion had been absent from work since Monday, June 13.

Information received from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Asuncion left the country on Tuesday, June 14, onboard a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Hawaii, United States.

Asuncion has been relieved of her duties and responsibilities as city treasurer. The city also requested the BI to include her in its watch list.

Representatives from the Bureau of Local Governance Finance (BLGF) accompanied by Provincial Treasurer Josephine Calajate conducted meetings with concerned head of departments to further investigate the issues surrounding the missing funds.

Four remaining bank accounts have yet to be checked.

Seven employees of the cash division under the treasurer’s office were also reassigned.

Asuncion may face multiple criminal and administrative charges.