Worried about attending a foreign socials in the Philippines

I am planning to attend a foreign socials in the Philippines next month. I have yet to sign up since I'm quite worried about how things work in that country. I have heard a number of horror stories about foreign men and women getting scammed by locals there. I've also heard that in the downtown areas, there's a lot of robberies and theft going on. Is Philippines really that bad? Need someone to enlighten me on this one. Thanks.