Population/language/People:
I found for the most part the Philippine people to be quite kind, hospitable and very nice people in general.  Leaning a few words of the local dialect (Cebuano) is also helpful and goes a long way to show your willingness  to also be a nice person, Instead of just a visiting tourist.  Cebu Province has a total population of around 3 million. Cebuano is the native tongue. English and Tagalogue are commonly understood and spoken.

Eating Out: The main thing to worry about is that you be careful about eating out at the local outdoor restaurants near the villages or side street vendors.  The restaurants around the area were no problem as well as the restaurants at the shopping malls.  The street vendors sometimes might have spoiled meat since refrigeration there is a problem.  I did enjoy eating from the many local barbecue stands....Try to find one in a busy area so that you know the meat would be fresh since they would tend to have more customers.  Always try to drink bottled water.....I do not drink the local tap water in Manila.  Cebu's tap water was ok but, still a little iffy to drink.  Bottled water is very easy to get at all the supermarket and most locals drink bottled water as well.   Sodas in cans are ok....but try to stay away from ice in your drinks. Some small stores sell ice but I always try to ask if it was from mineral water or from the tap. I always asked first at a restaurant how they made there ice..if it was from tap water or mineral water.  I did find that drinking the water from deep fresh wells in the mountains or even from certain islands was actually pretty good and I never got sick.  I brought with me water purification tablets from the camping store here in the u.s. One tablet per liter will help kill any bacteria and guards against girardia.

Weather:  
Cebu is best from December to May when the weather turns dry. It is coolest from December to February, around 70-8- degrees with nice cool blowing winds.  But,  hottest from March to May. Temperature can rise higher than 100F in the summer. The rainy season begins in July bringing torrential downpours that would sometimes inhibit movement.

Philippine Time:
Philippine standard time is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Meantime. Chicago time + 14 hours (central time)

Dress/What to Bring:
Wear natural fibre, lightweight clothing. Outdoors stores in the u.s now carry light weight hiking pants with zippers on the legs that can be zipped on or off.  I had two pair and plan to get more for the future.  They proved to be very durable and doubled as pants in the evenings.  Bring shorts, hat sunglasses, bathing suit, insect repellent, flashlight, sun block cream, tough shoes for walking, rubber slippers for the beach. I always bought pop up brand tissues and carried them with me every where I went as public toilets almost never have any.
The Barong Tagalog is acceptable formal wear for men. Shorts or sleeveless shirts should never be worn when visiting churches, mosques or temples.  Basically I was dressing down from what I might wear in the U.S. Most of the time while I was at the beach resorts I would just wear flip flops, shorts ( or swimming type shorts) and a t-shirt.  The only time I wore blue jeans and a polo-type shirt was if I was going into the city for a dinner at a restaurant.

Electrical Appliances:
Most areas in Cebu are supplied with 220 volts, 60 cycles. Plugs in the U.S. or on your camera adapter or laptop computer will have three prongs.....2 flat ones and one round one in the middle.  But in the phills the wall plugs only have openings for just the two flat prongs so if you bring a plug adapter from say ace hardware along that has only just the 2 flat prongs then you should  be ok.

Money:
The Philippine currency is peso, divided into 100 centavos. Next to the peso, the US dollar enjoys wide acceptance. Most foreign currencies can easily be changed at banks, hotels, and authorized dealers. Foreign currency is not readily taken by the establishments in Cebu. Major foreign credit cards may be accepted only at major hotels, resorts, shops and restaurants. Visitors are advised to bring sufficient amount of change in small bills or coins. Shopping centers are the best place to get a good exchange rate( around 50-55 pesos per dollar)

Business Hours:
Banks - 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday; government agencies and offices - 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday; private firms - 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, 9am to 12noon Saturday; Shops - 9am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday. Most department stores stay open on Sundays and holidays.

Tipping:
Bellhops expect a tip, as do waiters, taxi drivers, hairdressers, beauticians, and porters. Most hotels and restaurants add 10% service charge on top of the government tax. Tipping 15% of the bill is appropriate if no service charge is included. At the hotels I was tipping P20-P30 for bellboys, porters and like. Taxi drivers I would tip them around P50-P100 depending on how talkative and helpful they were towards giving information to certaian tourists spots.  

Public Transport:
There are many ways to get around Cebu.  The best way is a taxi.....just check to see if the meter is running when you get in.  They have a habit of turning it off or saying it is broke....If it was off...I would always joke with them and ask them..." so, which rate are you going to charge me...the Philippino rate or the American rate...then laugh normally when I would say that they would tell me just to pay what i wanted to.  If you were to ride in a taxi with a meter for one hour....the bill would be around P275-P300 so I would just time the ride and for a 30 minute ride I might give him P150....then a tip if he was talkative and/or friendly.  If you feel a little adventurous then learn how to ride with the locals.  In the front passenger side window of the jeepneys will be a sign with the name of the location he will be going to.  The locals mostly like to use the very colorful jeepney, or the smaller version multicabs.  They are nice to ride once in while for short rides and to tour the area without any luggage or bags....not much room on them but your mingling elbow to elbow with the locals and it is very cheap.  Typically 5-7 pesos per ride.  There are also the tricycles...a motor cycle with a side car.....they are ok to ride but try to sit outside on the seat behind the drive or on the side car by the door is a flip down "jump seat" to sit on..half in and half out of the tricycler...if not then you will stuck inside a little side car.  The tricycles normally charge about 4 pesos per person then wait until they get 4 or 5 people on it then go....sometimes you can just flag him down along the road and jump on or if you have to go to a special place you can pay the full fair of say 30 or 40 pesos and he will just take you alone....which is still way cheaper than waiting around and paying a taxi. The city busses were to old and unclean and sometimes break down...so I chose not to ride them at all.  For the most part I would take a taxi if I had to go someplace special in a hurry if not then I would just ride with the locals...no since in spending all your vacation money on transportation if you don't have to. Sometimes you can find a taxi driver that you liked and was very friendly then ask him for his phone number and you can call him to come and pick you up if you want a personal taxi at times. You  can pay him around P1200-P1500 for 8 hours to drive you around all day to see the tourists places and to take photos for you.