First, it's surprisingly difficult to find affordable accommodations. There are plenty of fancy resorts & expensive hotels, but cheap places (that are inhabitable) are pretty rare. I had gotten used to $5 - $8 hostels (whining over places that cost $9+), and expected similar prices in the Philippines. Alas, in a lot of the places I've gone to, the average rate was about $30. CRINGE. For an unemployed & steadily-getting-broke college grad, that hurts. Fortunately, I managed to find deals that were at least under $20, but only after spending about 3 hours at a time searching & sifting online through accommodations that a) had no reviews, b) did not know how to list their website on search engines, c) did not even have a website, d) had NO CONTACT INFO WHATSOEVER. Call me a demanding and whiny (which I totally am in this post- sorry) child of this communication & technology generation, but that is frustrating. But I managed! & when I go to bed at night on those at-least-under-$20 pillows, I feel like I earned it. Sort of.
Philippine tourism also is not very friendly towards solo travelers. A lot of tour packages & excursions require a minimum of 2 people. This isn't always a problem, as it's not too difficult to find another lonesome traveler with whom to join forces. But when you can't in a crowd of friends & families, and you thus end up not being able to go-snorkeling-with-sea-turtles-off-the-coast-of-a-gorgeous-island, it really blows. And while doing things on your own is always an option, it can be a very difficult one that can end up being more expensive than the already pricey tour packages. For instance, I paid many pretty pennies to go to see the Underground River in Palawan (which I do NOT regret in the slightest, that trip was awesome!), but before I shelled out for the organized tour, I researched how to do it on my own. My patched together directions included several local jeepney & bus transfers (note: the public transportation system in PI is difficult to navigate as a non-local, but does become easier to follow with practice), & then renting a boat & hiring a boatman, all of which totaled higher (monetary-wise & effort-wise) than the organized tour. 
Before I get too harsh on PI, let me also say that there are many things here that pacify my frustrations with it. First & foremost, the FOOD. The food is cheap & amazing. The tropical fruits are delicious, the traditional dishes are mouthwatering, and the desserts are to DIE FOR. Hopia, sago, halo-halo, polvoron, bibingka, leche flan, ube ice cream, cassava cake... YES FOREVER. And just being in the Philippines is enough to make me un-mad at it for being so ehhh towards solo travelers. It really is an awesome country! It has so many beautiful physical & cultural landscapes that are such delights to discover & explore, & I've been having an awesome beyond awesome time here (previous whines aside). The "Ooo"s and "Ahhh"s will always over power the "Ugh"s. So, final thoughts: If you're traveling in the Philippines by yourself, get excited because there's a whole lotta awesome to see. But also be prepared to pay a bit more for hotels/hostels, & to have the fact that you're alone rubbed in your face a lot by travel agencies. My advice: be amiable & make friends with people in your hostel or hotel. I mean, you should do that anyway, but you can also coordinate group excursions & split costs with them. Also, if you can ride a motorcycle, consider renting one. I met a lot of solo travelers that did & they absolutely loved it! They could take off & go wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted! If you do it though, don't be an idiot. As much as I embrace challenges & think they're character-building, if you don't think you can handle the rocky, off-road portion of the uphill mountain trail, please please please don't try to. I have heard too many stories of over-confident tourists zipping off on motorcycles only to zipper down & end up in the hospital.
On that note, YAY PHILIPPINES! You may annoy me sometimes, but I still love you.
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