Teacher who walks five miles to school everyday in tears as pupils buy him new shoes

A teacher was filmed breaking down in tears after pupils bought him a brand new pair of leather shoes.

Cesar Punzalan, 50, walks around five miles everyday to and from the Immaculate Heart of Mary School, in Laguna, the Philippines, with the journey taking him an hour each way.

The class had noticed his shoes had become old and tatty as a result, and already had several holes. Knowing that one of his children is unwell, they decided to club together and pay for a new pair of shoes for him themselves. The class then presented their gift to Mr Punzalan before lessons began on August 1 and filmed him unwrapping it on their phones.

In the footage, the science teacher can be seen becoming emotional as he realises what is in the box. He tells the class:

You didn’t have to do this. Why did you spend your money? In my profession as a teacher, we don’t expect anything in return.

Towards the end of the video he begins to cry and is forced to wipe the tears from his face. Pupil Mary Ann Claire Garcia, 17, said he continued to ‘cry a lot’ when she stopped filming him.

She said:

Mr Punzalan is so dedicated to his job. He has to walk so far to reach school, but he does it because he wants the best for all his pupils.

We noticed that his shoes were falling apart and we know he’s careful with money so we just wanted to help.’ She added that the class knew Mr Punzalan was saving a lot of his money for his family due to his child’s illness.

Mary continued:

Everybody contributed to buy the shoes for him.

source: Daily Mail