Dacer’s abductors asked to contact kin

Friends of missing public relations practitioner Salvador "Bubby" Dacer appealed to his abductors yesterday to establish contact with his family and negotiate for his release.

"There has been no attempt to contact the members of his family. While there have been some callers providing information, they have not led to his recovery," a close friend of Dacer told The STAR.

With their spirits lifted by reports that Dacer was still alive, other friends of the missing publicist asked his abductors to set the old man free.

Latest intelligence reports indicated that Dacer’s abductors were simply after his briefcase which allegedly contained vital documents that could be damaging to President Estrada in his impeachment trial for bribery and corruption.

Others close to Dacer do not discount the possibility that some influential politicians and police officials could be behind the abduction as insinuated by jueteng whistleblower Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.

"If this is the case, then we fear that Bubby won’t be allowed to come out alive. Some quarters said Bubby will be found soon, but no mention has been made of whether or not he will still be alive," a family friend said.

The source, who requested anonymity, said the attempt to silence Dacer could have been brought about by his strategies in giving the opposition good publicity.

The family friend said Dacer had the capability to bolster the evidence against the President in the trial since he was able to establish a paper trail on the Best World Resource stock trading scam.

Police failed to find any briefcase when Dacer’s van was recovered in a sttep ravine in Maragondon, Cavite two weeks ago.

Dacer and his driver Manuel Corbito were reportedly snatched at the intersection of Osmeña Highway (South Superhighway) and Zobel Roxas street near the boundary of Manila and Makati last Nov. 24. Dacer was on his way to his Manila Hotel office for a lunch meeting with former President Fidel Ramos, a friend and client.

So far, police investigators have come up empty in the search for Dacer and his driver. They have recovered four bodies and are awaiting lab test results to determine if they belong to the missing men.