WE can only commiserate with Pasay City Regional Trial Court Judge Jesus Mupas.

We believe that the good judge may be facing a growing call for him to inhibit himself from hearing a case now pending in his sala. The public sentiment appears to be that Mupas has already become too controversial for him to come up with a trial and judgment of the case against former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., which the public would find fair and credible.

The problem is that the public came to know Judge Mupas only in the light of the controversies he found himself in. First, there was this episode in his career when he was reprimanded by the Supreme Court for being too slow and for sitting on many cases that may have been pending in his sala too long.

Then, after being labeled a “slow judge,” he resurfaced into public view via a resolution of the case of former President Gloria Arroyo with what many saw as “extraordinary haste.” Mupas may have been unfairly accused of overly trying to please the Palace with that “hasty” resolution, but that episode undoubtedly aggravated perceptions that he is controversy-prone.

Then came an accusation that alleged emissaries of the judge approached the camp of Abalos and made an offer on his behalf. The alleged offer was a dismissal of the case in exchange for a huge sum of money.

We think the allegation compounded the judge’s image problem even more. No, we are not saying that the allegations are true. But we are worried that accusations of this issue may have shown how vulnerable Mupas is to this kind of controversy.

There is a basis for this serious worry.

A few weeks back a newspaper published a story that said this was not the first time the judge had been accused of making an offer to a party with a case pending in his sala.

Also, based on official court documents obtained by some media colleagues, it appears the judge had faced similar accusations in May last year. A certain Jose Crame Jr. complained before the Supreme Court that Judge Mupas had received the amount of P3 million from a Taiwanese against whom he had issued a hold-departure order or HDO.

In exchange for giving Mupas the P3 million, Crame said the judge lifted the HDO against Peng Wen-Ching.

That Crame complaint was filed more than half a year before a similar accusation was hurled against Mupas by the Abalos camp. The similarity of the complaints is eerie, but the accusation, of course, has yet to be proven.

But we think there could be more controversies coming the judge’s way. And the public is worried that instead of handling the cases with dispatch, impartiality and efficiency may no longer be possible. This is because Mupas may have to devote part of his time parrying the accusations and controversies. This could be taxing on the part of the judge.

The people’s eyes are on the judge. The question on their mind is, will Mupas spend more time defending his image than attending to the important cases now in his sala?

The other question is, given the raging row between him and the camp of Abalos, would he still be able to view and handle the case with impartiality?

Mupas had earlier denied a motion by the Abalos camp for him to inhibit. Last we heard, Abalos expressed serious doubt that the judge could remain impartial. Mupas, if we remember correctly, likewise slapped Abalos and his lawyer with contempt of court.

Will the good judge likewise spend more time quarreling with a protagonist than trying the merits of the case against him?

The concern is valid. The public has an interest on the charges Abalos is facing in Mupas’s sala. They want that resolved fast.

Mupas’s controversies could stand in the way. Would Mupas finally inhibit for the sake of the public’s interest?

Your guess is as good as mine.

USDA supports PHL food industry

We are happy to note that the United States government through its Agriculture Counselor, Philip Schull, has assured the Philippine food industry leaders of reliability in the supply of dry roasted pea flour.

Schull noted that the flour variety has won increasing worldwide popularity because of its high nutritive value. Shull announced that the commodity is now available in the Philippines through Commodity Quest.

Pea flour is also referred to as “peasemeal”in the global flour industry. It is produced  from yellow field peas which have been roasted, a process which enrich the protein and starch  contents of the flour

The Philippine food sector had recently welcomed the introduction of pulse flour made  into the country, saying the products are a boost to the local consumers’ bid for healthier food options.

At a food industry summit held recently, Dr. Virgith Buena, chairman of the country’s Board of Nutrition and Dietetics, said clinical research in the US over the past 40 years show that regular intake of peas and pea-derived products like pea flour “can contribute to marked reduction in serum cholesterol and other blood lipids”.

“The reduction in both result on reduced cardio-vascular risks,” Buena said.

Buena said she believes adding roasted pea flour to ingredient mix will enrich the fiber and protein content of snack bars, pasta, breads and other baked goods.