The four main spots I toured were Manila, Baguio, Bohol, and Ta'al. Other than Bohol, which is on a different island, we reached the locations mostly by road trip. I got to see a lot of the countryside this way, and see first-hand where the infrastructure of civilization pretty much ended. Also, as I said, I toured with native Phillipinos, and I learned much about the country from conversations with them as well.
At present day, a large portion of the island of Mindanao has been surrounded/ hemmed in by Phillipino military, and the rebel sect Abu Sayef, a splinter group of Al Qaida, has been left to rule the hemmed in area as an autonomous region. The military no longer sends troops into the area due to public sentiment against all the casualties that were being suffered as a result. Currently, they only keep them contained