Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Tuesday reprimanded an official of the National Bureau of Investigation for saying the bureau's investigation into the death of ABS-CBN news anchor Ted Failon's wife is leaning to the angle of suicide.

"I think that [NBI spokesman on the Etong case Ric] Diaz should wait until the investigation is complete. He should not give blow-by-blow development of the case," Gonzalez said when asked to react on Diaz's statement that initial findings on the bureau's probe into Trinidad Arteche-Etong's death are pointing to suicide.

Diaz had said that the angles of murder and homicide are being ruled out in the initial findings of the NBI. "Although [the investigation] is not yet finished, it seems all roads are leading to suicide," Diaz told reporters recently.

Gonzalez reminded Diaz that his role in the NBI's investigation into Etong's death is only as spokesman, not an investigator.

"The most prudent thing is to wait," the justice secretary said.

Diaz had said that the NBI may be able to come out with its final report on the Etong case on Friday. He said that results of forensics, autopsy and medico-legal exmainations have so far pointed to suicide.

He said are just waiting for the results of the ballistic examinations on the gun involved in the death -- a .380 Walther PPK handgun -- before coming up with conclusions.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the members of the Quezon City Police District involved in the arrest of Failon's household helpers and in-laws may face charges after dismissal of the obstruction of justice complaints they filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office.

"If there was really no obstruction of justice, the issue will go down to actuations of police..." he said.

He, however, clarified that the QCPD policemen, led by Senior Superintendent Frank Mabanag, may still be absolved from the counter charges expected from Failon's camp if the arrests were "not done with malice."

"The police may have really believed that these people were trying to prevent a proper investigation," the justice secretary said.

Criminal raps

Lawyer Vince Bayhon, who represents Failon and his household helpers, said criminal charges are now being readied against Mabanag's team.

Bayhon said they may file the criminal complaints within the week at the Office of the Ombudsman.

"Actually we are already preparing the complaints. We may file within the week," Bayhon, one of Failon's lawyer, told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda.' He said the complaints are about "the manner of how the arrest was done."

The Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Monday dismissed the obstruction of justice charges file by the QCPD against Failon and his household helpers -- Marfreda Bollicer, Pacifico Apacible and Glen Polan.

In a 10-page resolution, the Office of the Quezon City Prosecutor said the four could not be charged for violation of Presidential Decree No. 1829 because the Quezon City police had yet to determine if the shooting of Failon's wife was a crime and not a suicide as claimed by the respondents.

"It is worthy of emphasis that when this complaint was filed the complainants have not yet concluded their investigation on the matter of death of Mrs. Etong; in fact, it is a public knowledge that to date such an investigation is still in progress," the resolution read. "No [other] case has yet been filed against the respondents or anybody else relative to the death of Mrs. Etong."

The QC prosecutor's office said the act of Failon's household help to clean Failon's house and car where the death allegedly took place is "bereft of men's rea or a guilty mind." It added that there is no evidence that Failon ordered his helpers to clean his house and car.