I used the internet and a dating service to talk to many Filipinas.  I started six months before I left the US.  Any Filipina asking for money for any reason I blocked.  They have many easily recognized tricks.  Sickness in family and school tuition are some examples.  I consider it very rude to ask complete strangers for money.  It was easy to dump those.  The ones that were nice enough to answer my questions and take the time to explain life here I kept contact with. 
Many of them said they would meet me when I arrived and help me get settled.  I also had a back up plan with an expat in Cebu if that didn't work out.  Maybe I was lucky, but I found one that met me at the airport, found a rental for me in advance, protected me from the local merchants who raise prices when they see a white face and countless other little things to help me adapt.

For those of you who have to go back home because you can't retire the road is longer and bumpier.  Unless you have lots of time you can spend in the Philippines, it will take a long time to settle on one Filipina.  After you find one you must begin the long process of getting her to your home country, unless you expect her to wait many years for you to retire.  At any time during this process something can go wrong and a guy can end up starting all over again.  You may be heart broken, but you are much better off finding out before you are married.

This is about all the advice I have to give except to say don't let her or her relatives push you into marriage or anything else before you feel comfortable with the idea.  Filipinos like to tell foreigners that they have certain obligations to the family once they marry a Filipina and they all cost you money.  I suggest you not live in the same town as they do if this occurs. 

OH!  I want to emphasize the importance of identifying good moral character.  My personal circumstances were that I found a very religious woman with solid convictions about marriage and dedication.  She is very religious, but she is not  a fanatic.  I realize now how important her upbringing is to our marriage.