What’s scarier than the examination season?
The finalization of grades that comes after.
1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 3.00, 5.00. These numbers, ranging from uno to singko, have always been met with silent prayers and closed fists long before coming into existence. While I agree that it does not define a person, a denied truth continuously makes itself known: these numbers evoke, reflect, and remind decisions.
Decisions that are not solely about choosing to sleep instead of reviewing nor regretting an answer in a true or false question, but ones that circle back into the scene in St. Martha Building, where I wrote my chosen program with shaky hands as they repeatedly asked me if I was sure of it.
I was sure of it. But did I want it?
They say every person has the capacity to exercise their free will — to voluntarily choose actions that will lead to happiness and fulfillment. But in a capitalistic society designed to make people obsessed with numbers, free will proves to be a choice that comes with privilege — one that can only be attained if you have the means to pay for its price, including choosing your university program.
A price that is too expensive to bear for a writer who has to bring food into the table, an artist who has to pay for their siblings’ tuition fees, a musician who is yet to have a permanent home address, and a dancer with a parent waiting at a public hospital.
A taunting reality that leaves creatives with no other choice but to let go of their artistry and choose the path of practicality.
In 2025, Inquirer reported that fields in technology can go around six to seven digits of annual compensation, such as DevOps engineers, software developers, and data analysts. Moreover, Jobstreet, a known platform for job hunting, revealed that the most in-demand jobs for the first-half of 2025 include Accounting, Information and Communications Technology, and Sales.
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also stated in 2023 that the top three highest paying jobs include aircraft pilots, software developers, and mathematicians and actuaries.
While actual rankings and salaries may differ from time to time, what remains constant is the fact that no creative path has ever made it on the top-paying nor most in demand list of jobs.
In fact, more often than not, paths that do not revolve around numbers do not even reach the livable wage.
On top of the shutdown of media outlets, a 2021 poll by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) found that 44% of journalists earn P15,000 or less per month, and 15% earn P5,000 or less, most of whom live in the provinces.
“Pay rates are low, and inflation is so high. Before, I could earn about P12,000 a month, and I would be living comfortably. But now, P12,000 is nothing,” Froilan Gallardo, a journalist with 37 years of experience, shared with Rappler.
This undercompensation has prompted writers, who, even with years of on-ground experience, had to let go of their passion just so they could live a comfortable life.
“The media landscape made me realize that while I loved journalism, I needed to prioritize stability for my own peace of mind,” journalist Nick Villavecer stated.
Meanwhile, the situation faced by musicians remains similar to the writers. According to the National Research Council of the Philippines, more than half of Filipinos in the music industry earn under P20,000 a month, only slightly higher than the minimum wage in the National Capital Region.
“Local artists would always have to go through what we normally identify as ‘sariling sikap,’ that is, without any government intervention and support in its music training, marketing and promotion,” shared Musika Pilipinas Project Head Maria Alexandra Chua.
The disparity in pay between paths that delve into numbers in comparison to dreams that dives into the art is not a secret: it is a glaring reality that presents itself even into young creatives. It manifests when it is time to choose your university program, when you are held in the tightrope between choosing what to feed — your soul or your stomach?
This indirectly reflects in the enrollment numbers of each school in HAU. Out of nine departments, the School of Education (SED), College of Criminal Justice Education and Forensics (CCJEF), and School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) registered the lowest number of students for academic year 2025–2026, respectively, according to the final enrollment statistics summary of the University Registrar.
With a total number of 1,106 students, the enrollees under the three departments comprise only 10.58% of the total college population.
While several factors contribute to this trend, one clear similarity unites the three: they all follow paths rooted in the humanities and arts. When set against the overwhelming numbers in the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA), the School of Business and Accountancy (SBA), and the School of Computing (SOC), it becomes evident that today’s youth are gravitating toward disciplines perceived as more practical and sustainable in the long term.
Students, though driven by a deep desire to pursue their passions, often find themselves compelled to choose the path that pays — a compromise made to meet the pressing financial demands of the present.
While balancing passion and profit is not beyond reach, doing so comes with a steep and uncertain cost — one that many simply cannot afford.
As this trend continues to persist, the Philippines loses what could have been its greatest writers, artists, musicians, and performers to the never-ending cycle of financial greed brought by capitalism. One that not only compromises creativity, but sucks out the free thinking, criticality, and freedom of its population.
As such, it falls upon the government to bear the cost of nurturing dreams. It must expand scholarships specifically designed for the humanities and arts, ensuring that young creatives are free to pursue their craft without the constant weight of financial uncertainty.
Beyond education, this commitment must extend to reassessing and raising the wages of those already working in media and the arts, establishing grant programs, cultural funds, and national platforms that provide both visibility and livelihood.
If this is achieved, numbers no longer have to be feared. Finalized grades in the portal will no longer be a grudge reminder of students’ ghosted dreams. Creative paths will be seen in the list of top-paying and in-demand jobs, and enrollment statistics of arts and humanities will be on par with those of technology, engineering, and business.
Only then can the Philippine artistic scene truly thrive — not merely survive.
Only then can the Filipino youth truly exercise their free will without minding its price.
Denice Tuazon is the associate editor – internal of The Angelite for the Publication Year 2025-2026, and writes opinions under the column “Only Den.”
The views and opinion of the editor does not necessarily reflect those of the publication.
