Student brings life-size cardboard cutout of late mother to graduation ceremony

His mother had died of pneumonia complications in 2016.

Matthias Ang | July 18, 2019, 06:30 PM

A Filipino student, Paulo John Alinsog, has created a stir on social media for posing with a life-size cardboard cutout of his mother at his graduation ceremony in Pasay City, Philippines.

The photos were uploaded to Twitter on July 16 and has since received 46,900 likes and 4,600 retweets.

https://twitter.com/paudaexplorer/status/1151022360192925697

Here is the translation of his tweet, as per Coconuts Manila:

"To my most beautiful mother! Ma, your eldest has graduated I hope you’re happy in the presence of God. I finished school because this is what you wanted. I love you very much.”

Alisog graduated from the Lyceum of the Philippines University with a degree in Business Administration.

Mother passed away in 2016

Coconuts Manila further reported that Alinsog's mother had passed away in 2016, as a result of complications arising from pneumonia.

Given that it was Alinsog's dream to graduate with his mother by his side, he made the decision to order a cutout of his mother two weeks prior to his graduation.

He also asked the company to make the cutout the same height as his mother.

Alinsog acknowledged that when the standee arrived, he was brought to tears and thought it was both beautiful and creepy at the same time.

He added:

"I had that standee made so that I could at least feel my mom’s presence on graduation day because my graduation from college was our dream."

Mother provided for his education

Alinsog also told Coconuts Manila  that his mother was a single parent for a few years and that their relationship was close.

Despite the hardships, his mother had sent him to private schools, as well as university.

Alisog added that when she remarried, she did not ask for money from his stepfather to help with the endeavour.

Instead, the money came from his mother, as well as his aunts.

As such, bringing the standee to the graduation ceremony was his way of paying tribute to his mother.

Top image collage from Paulo John Twitter