A retired chief nurse of the Philippine Army has launched a grassroots-oriented program that aims to nurse the country’s environment and citizens back to good health.

Using a huge portion of her prize money from a prestigious global nursing award, Col. Maria Victoria “Mimi” Juan piloted today in Pasay the initiative dubbed BeOne, which stands for Barangay Empowerment on Nursing the Environment. 

“Applying everything I learned from the military, I am now hoping to give back to the country in the most meaningful and impactful way possible, which is through the grassroots,” said Juan.

Last November, Juan won the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award for her exceptional contributions to the field of nursing and the medical field. The prestigious global recognition came with a $250,000 prize money, which Juan partly used for her advocacies, including the BeOne campaign.

Preventable deaths

One half of the two-pronged campaign of BeOne is the “Barangay Lifesaver Program,” which focuses on empowering barangays how to adequately attend to individuals in near-death situations, such as those experiencing massive bleeding and cardiac arrest.

“By serving in the military, I know very well what is causing death to most people, and that is massive bleeding and cardiac arrest. So that will be our focus in terms of capacitating our barangays,” said Juan.

Juan added that the BeOne Lifesaver program will be different from the usual first aid training as it will primarily focus on teaching how to respond to highly critical near-death situations. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in 2024, heart disease remained the top cause of death in the country. A previous study, meanwhile, pointed out hemorrhage as a major cause of death from trauma in the Philippines, with the majority of these fatalities happening before reaching the hospital.

“My hope is that through BeOne, we will be able to reduce a large number of highly preventable deaths in the country,” said Juan.

“Our ultimate ambition is that every citizen will know how to save people, including their loved ones, during a possible sudden death,” added Juan.

Vetiver program

The other half of the BeOne program is geared toward helping the local environment while providing additional local livelihood through the release and propagation of the vetiver grass along the Pasig River.

Through the release of vetiver pontoons, the program aims to contribute to the clean-up of the Pasig River as the non-invasive grass can absorb pollutants in the water system. Vetiver has long roots that can grow up to three meters and can help clean up to 90% of nitrates, phosphates, and other heavy metals in the water only four days after being planted.

Noah Manarang, president of Vetiver Farms Philippines, said they aim to expand the vetiver project from Pasig into other areas in the country to serve as a bulwark against pollution and soil erosion.

“We are hoping to reach areas that have issues in terms of soil erosion and pollution that are not being reached by government resources,” said Manarang.

Juan said they are now discussing with relevant government authorities for the launch of BeOne in other areas of the country.