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Irked 'Bato' tells subordinates: Talk to me, not media

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Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/20160731-pnp-delarosa-mnib-2.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa. Albert Alcain, Malacanang Photo</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The Philippines&#x27; police chief on Tuesday reprimanded officers and some senior generals for raising concerns with journalists about the country&#x27;s war on drugs, telling subordinates to talk to him instead - if they were brave enough.Asked to comment on a Reuters Special Report published on Monday that highlighted widespread discrepancies in statistics related to President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s drugs crackdown, Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa appeared irked at police and took a swipe at journalists for what he called &quot;unfair&quot; reporting.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/10/24/16/2-dead-cops-daily-and-other-dubious-data-in-du30s-war-on-drugs">2 dead cops daily and other &#x27;dubious&#x27; data in Du30&#x27;s war on drugs</a></li></ul>&quot;Talk to me, but don&#x27;t go to the media to talk about those things,&quot; dela Rosa told reporters.&quot;Tell our men, the officers who had said this, if they had balls, they should talk to me.&quot;Dela Rosa, whose nickname means &quot;rock&quot;, said officers with grievances should tell their commanders or go to a panel dedicated to hearing internal complaints.&quot;They&#x27;re undermining the efforts of the president,&quot; he said, warning of possible charges of insubordination for not using approved channels.The Reuters report reviewed official government data and compiled interviews with Duterte&#x27;s top anti-drug officials, who said numbers on police deaths, total drug users, those needing treatment, the types of drugs consumed and the prevalence of drug-related crime were exaggerated, flawed or non-existent.The same officials noted, however, that problematic statistics were not an issue, because the campaign focused attention on a long-neglected crisis in the Philippines.Dela Rosa also lashed out at the media for using anonymous sources in stories.&quot;That&#x27;s the problem with you, you don&#x27;t want to say who the source is,&quot; he said.&quot;It&#x27;s unfair if you work that way.&quot;

MANILA - The Philippines' police chief on Tuesday reprimanded officers and some senior generals for raising concerns with journalists about the country's war on drugs, telling subordinates to talk to him instead - if they were brave enough.

MANILA - The Philippines' police chief on Tuesday reprimanded officers and some senior generals for raising concerns with journalists about the country's war on drugs, telling subordinates to talk to him instead - if they were brave enough.