Here in the Philippines, the Office of the Ombudsman teamed up with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism to mark the day with the "Philippine Data Summit."
Speaking at the event, former Commissioner Heidi Mendoza underscored the importance of data as a tool for citizen empowerment as she rallied Filipinos to take a united stand against corruption.
The new UN Internal Oversight Officer encouraged public employees, the general public and the media to expose corrupt practices.
With the pending passage of the Freedom of Information Bill, Mendoza said various alternatives like citizen participation could also be tapped to fight corruption.
The Philippine government is currently promoting an open data system to monitor expenditures and practice transparency in the use of government funds. -ANC's News Now, 12.9.15
UN 2015 Theme: Break the corruption chain
Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental instability.
Corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law and creating bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existing is the soliciting of bribes. Economic development is stunted because foreign direct investment is discouraged and small businesses within the country often find it impossible to overcome the "start-up costs" required because of corruption.
On 31 October 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption and requested that the Secretary-General designate the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as secretariat for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties (resolution 58/4).
The Assembly also designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.
Governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, the media and citizens around the world are joining forces to fight this crime. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are at the forefront of these efforts.
The 2015 joint international campaign focuses on how corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to human rights violations, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.
