In the Phils, you can stay for 21 days on a Tourist Visa, but can have it extended to 60 days at any travel agency for up to 2 years.
After 2 years, you must leave the country for a minimum of 48 hours.
Most non-citizens fly to Thailand for a weekend, then repeat the above indefinitely.
The other option is to deposit 50k with the Phil Government to become a retiree citizen, but I hear that they are relaxing the rules to make the country more friendly to Ex-Pats that wish to retire in the Phils.
If you haven’t been in touch with AlexW, you should send him an email as he is also living in Cebu and loving it and can give you valuable advice as he has been living there for a few years.
But you aren't allowed to “own” property in the Philippines. But you can rent.
As for crime: Yes, a problem: a local FilAm (US NAVY) who retired here was killed in our town last month...the robbers were after his money. Guns need permits, and my stepson is a strict Christian and won't break the law, so we have a couple of huge dogs and a machete...
And of course, we also have typhoons, floods, corruption, and Dengue fever. But since we have back up generators and our own water pump, brownouts (which are frequent) don't bother us much.
Oh yes: you will need a maid for cooking and doing the laundry.