No word yet from exec’s abductors

Caloocan City police said no demands for ransom has been made by the abductors of Selecta Feeds operations manager and supervisor Danilo Bautista.

Investigators said this only bolsters their earlier claim that the abduction was not the handiwork of a kidnap-for-ransom gang.

Bautista was forcibly taken by four armed men past midnight in Bagumbong Dulo, Barangay 171 last Tuesday while he and a companion were on their way home.

Investigators said they have talked with Bautista’s mother, Marcelina, who once worked as househelp for the Arce family that owns Selecta Feeds.

She claimed Danilo was sired by the late Don Mauro Arce, whose family formerly owned of the Selecta brand of ice cream and dairy products. She since married Rogelio de la Cruz, Danilo’s stepfather.

Marceline told investigators the Arce patriarch did not recognize Danilo as his own son, but gave him a position in the feed mill. Bautista apparently earned the ire of other employees at the firm after they allegedly lost most of their commissions.

Last October, the victim received a box shaped like a coffin containing a letter and a live Armalite bullet.

One of the firm’s supervisors investigated by the police in the Bautista case allegedly received a threat late Wednesday afternoon.

"Nasampolan na kayo!" the male caller told Cristina Bernardino-Ducusin, one of two supervisors called in by the police to shed light on the abduction.

Felix Avila Jr., a supervisor, Ramiro Gonzales, foreman and Jay de la Cruz, driver, were also held for questioning last Wednesday. They have been released after giving their statements. – Jerry Botial