According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, the two countries had the most journalist deaths in the region last year. The two ranked globally only behind Iraq.

That is most disconcerting. And to think that both Afghanistan and Iraq are war-torn countries.

One other disconcerting news is the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council to send its Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions to investigate political killings here.

Not even during the Marcos dictatorship did we acquire these dubious distinctions. What are we to think of the Arroyo regime? Brutal?

***

At no time in the recent past have we had so many Cabinet secretaries-designate who have not been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

Last week, 11 of them were bypassed. Acting Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzales takes the cake for having been bypassed 12 times.

There ought to be a law that would require the appointing authority to withdraw the nomination of someone who has been bypassed, say, three times. And another that would require the CA to either confirm or reject a nominee after he has been given an ad interim appointment for the third time.

What’s happening now is unfair to the really deserving and competent nominees.

***

A third parcel bomb exploded last week in the United Kingdom, a prime target of terrorists because of soon to be ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s canine devotion to his friend in Washington.

I hope the Department of Foreign Affairs is not waiting for more serious bombing incidents before issuing a travel advisory against the United Kingdom. It will not give me pleasure to say "I told you so" if and when some of our people should get hurt or, worse, killed.

Forget our wealthy tourists and junketing legislators. They can think for themselves. It’s the thousands of heroic OFWs in the UK we should worry about.

***

I am told that certain quarters are now blaming the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for the big blunder of having murder-suspect and former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste attend the presentation of the Letters of Credence of the new Palestinian ambassador. Leviste is the honorary consul of Palestine in the Philippines. Pictures of Ms. Arroyo with Leviste which appeared in several dailies caught everybody off guard and drew a lot of disparaging remarks.

Usually, those who do the finger-pointing are the ones guilty.

During such occasions, the DFA merely submits recommendations and seeks clearance from Malacañang on the list of participants and the proposed dates of presentation.

One need not be an ace sleuth to find out who in Malacañang are to blame for the blooper, that is, if Ms. Arroyo herself did not clear Leviste’s presence.

***

It was so distressing to watch on CNN 24 of our kababayans being held hostage by a band of hooded hoodlums in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

The sight of those hoodlums prancing around and pointing their high-powered rifles at the hostages gave me goose bumps. Two more Filipinos, a man and woman, have also been abducted as of this writing.

Other than saying that our embassy is in constant touch with the Nigerian authorities and that it will do everything possible to resolve the issue, the government hasn’t really said or done anything that may be considered reassuring enough to the families and friends of the hostages.

Somehow, you can’t feel the same sense of urgency or see the frenetic activities that attended the kidnapping and subsequent release of Angelo de la Cruz in Iraq not too long ago.

For instance, I am not aware of a high ranking official having been sent to Nigeria. I would have thought the DFA Undersecretary for OFW matters at least should have been there by now. In the case of de la Cruz, a DFA undersecretary was sent to Baghdad.

Was De la Cruz more important than the 26 OFWs now in captivity in Nigeria ?

***

An email sent to me by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous encapsulates what I believe the majority of our people think of Ms. Gloria M. Arroyo:

"As usual, you have again hit it square on the nail....Ebdane’s ignorance and temper (what a deadly combination), a self-confessed killer and our clueless president consorting with him in the Palace, even while the charges have been upgraded to murder, etc.

"My laundry list is getting longer and while I used to give GMA the benefit of the doubt as the president of the land, if only because there appears to be no one who is at least deserving of my and our respect, I have totally given up on her.

"Her decisions have not been for the greatest good and have obviously been motivated by self-preservation (until 2010), or an eye at going beyond 2010 (see how she has assiduously been pushing Cha-cha) and protection from criminal prosecution once she steps down from her lofty perch.

"Too bad, she has disrespected the Macapagal name. Too bad, her greed has made her a prisoner of the military and other power brokers.

"Tell me, how can you ever have faith in our leaders, most especially this so-called president who cannot even make an intelligent decision:

"1. Pitting a do-nothing senator, a high school graduate vs Binay, who declined an invitation to a debate, saying ‘gagayahin ko lang ang magandang programa ni Mayor. Baka naman ako mapagbigyan niya at ng maka-tikim naman ang mga taga Makati ng lutong kapampangan’ or words to that effect. Will this improve governance in Makati ? What intellectual process goes through her presidential mind to make Lapid represent her administration, when the poor Lapid appears to be nothing more than a self-admitted lackey of power brokers? How dare GMA insult our intelligence!

"2. Giving her blessings to Garci to run for Congress. Another top rate candidate from her decrepit stable who GMA thinks can improve the overall IQ and moral standards of Congress. Another gift from our beloved GMA.

"3. Endorsing the wife of Bong Pineda, the undisputed jueteng lord in Pampanga and yonder, for public office. Does this not make you feel that GMA speaks with a forked tongue, on one hand making the motions leading a crusade against jueteng and unbeknownst to us, she turns around and extols the bed partner of the jueteng lord. Yet another gift by our beloved president.

"4. Allowing her son, Dato, to seek a congressional office in Bicol, because Pampanga is too small for her power-hungry family. How can a Pampango and a non-resident of Bicol represent the interests, let alone, fight for the rights of this new-found constituency, when he is not even qualified to do so in the first place. Where is GMA’s respect for the laws? Where is her respect for the poor constituents of Bicol. Is she gifting us with another sterling public servant?

"5. Under the guise of forming a Unity ticket, inviting the likes of Honasan to join her senatorial ticket? (who can forget how this "officer and gentleman" wrought havoc to the economy in 1989 as we were on our way to recovery, making millions of hopeful Filipinos slide back to a deeper morass of poverty?) And as newspaper reports have it, how can one respect this macho of an officer who was tongue-lashed by his wife who rushed to his hide-out, a sanctuary provided by a friend, for reasons too indelicate to mention here. Thanks GMA for this wonderful gift.

"6. How about the choice of the inseparable political opportunists, Sotto and Oreta? Do they posses the intellect, the values and the heart for country which may prevent the Senate from self-destructing along with the dynasties of the Estrada family, the Cayetano siblings and the Pimentel father and son? This time, a wonderful pair of gifts to the suffering masses.

"7. How about GMA’s utter irresponsibility and insensitivity to watching our population grow under her watch to 85 million while we continue to import rice from Thailand and other Asian countries just so our poor countrymen can eat rice instead of corn grits? I wonder what she prays to God about whenever she is caught by Filipino paparazzis kneeling in a somber, prayerful mood.

"These are just for starters, Amba. There are more, but that will be for another day.

"When you analyze these presidential decisions (and indecision, in the case of the population explosion), you have to wonder where all that Assumption, Ateneo, and Georgetown credentials and values, all very impressive, have been dumped. And the legacy of Cong Dadong? Did she leave it in cow dung somewhere between Sexmoan and Malacañang?"

Amen.