DRUG USER KILLS MA IN VIZCAYA

KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya - An allegedly drug-influenced son of a former
municipal treasurer of this upland town strangled his mother to death on
July 19, according to a sketchy police report.

The victim was Elena Hufalar, 59, a public-school teacher and wife of a
former treasurer of Kasibu.

The alleged assailant was Elson Hufalar, who strangled his mother to death
in their house in Barangay Poblacion early morning of July 19.

Police did not disclose the motive but an investigator, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said the killing was drug-related.

The killing jolted the town and served as a wakeup call that the threat of
illegal drugs was already a fact of life in Kasibu, according to Eduardo
Balgos Jr., a member of the provincial board, or Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Balgos said life was serene a few years back in this upland town that used
to be reached only by jeepneys whose tires were wrapped with chains so they
could traverse the muddy road for at least four hours of rough ride from
the commercial town of Bambang.

Since an all-weather road was constructed, travel time to Kasibu has been
reduced to just more than one hour, Balgos said.

With its easy accessibility, Kasibu residents have fallen prey to drug
dealers, particularly shabu, described as the "poor man's cocaine."

Balgos urged local civilian and police officials to work together to stop
the drug menace in Kasibu.

Otherwise, he warned, the unabated entry of illegal drugs would worsen and
lead to more serious consequences like the killing of Hufalar.

Balgos said the supply of illegal drugs comes from the town of Bambang.

"The proliferation of illegal drugs in Kasibu should be a wakeup call to
our police officers to be more serious in their anti-drug
campaign," Balgos emphasized, adding:

"No one can deny that shabu has already reached Kasibu and there is even
one resident who had to be brought to Manila for rehabilitation."