The issue focused on the late Godfrey F. Yap, a member of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, a political party that has been active in the country for more than a century.

The American group at the center of the claim, the Center for International Policy, has been known to use non-profit status to further its political goals.

The group's 2014 tax return said it had been working on the Yap case for more than a year, and that it had given the