EDITORIAL - Time to revisit security measures

At about lunchtime last Wednesday, shots suddenly rang out in a Cebu City native restaurant to abruptly bring to a violent end what was supposed to be a happy occasion, the birthday of the Chinese consul general to Cebu. When the shooting ended, the consul general lay wounded in the arm. But two of his consular officers did not survive the attack, succumbing to their wounds later in the hospital.

That the shooter was the husband of one of the guests, who also works at the consulate, promptly fueled a slew of questions, many of them of a personal nature. Then the questions moved to other areas of speculation. Speculations cannot be avoided in this case because the police investigation that followed is naturally hampered by several factors -- the language barrier, the sensitivity arising from the circumstances of the persons involved.

But this does not have to mean that the hands of the police are tied. This was no diplomatic incident. The incident did not arise from an official function of any of the personalities involved. The incident happened to be a private and personal affair. Besides, and perhaps more importantly, it should be understood that none of those involved was a diplomat.

Consuls, it must be pointed out, are not diplomats. They are involved in administrative work and trade and cultural promotions but do not conduct diplomacy, which is the job of ambassadors. They generally do not enjoy what is known commonly as diplomatic immunity. They may be accorded certain courtesies, or even immunity itself, but that depends on the country to which they are assigned, meaning the privilege is not automatic.

There is a need to understand this and make the distinction in order for the authorities to be able to proceed with their investigation smoothly and not be hampered by obstacles that may not really be there, obstacles that are born largely of a failure to know and understand distinctions. A crime has been committed in this country. That means a law of this country has been violated and must therefore be investigated properly, diplomatic niceties notwithstanding.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has already made clear that Chinese consular officials enjoy immunity and that those involved in the incident are to be turned over to the Chinese authorities. In other words, it will be China that will deal with the legal complications arising from the incident. But that should not mean the end of it as far as the Philippines is concerned.

In the meantime that the police grapples with what it is faced and tries to proceed from what is available to it under the constraints of diplomatic agreements maybe it can check on the relatively "smaller" issues -- such as why a restaurant guest, who is not a consular employee, was able to bring a gun inside the premises of a commercial establishment. Is there not supposed to be a ban on guns inside such establishments? Clearly there is a need to revisit some of our security laws.