Hi Steve, I'm new to this site also, however i am settled here in Cebu with plans on returning to the UK later this year with 'company'. You have joined the right site to get some good responses and advice.

I did use dating sites to meet some girls before in the past and had met those few girls in person thereafter (mine was filipinaheart.com) but the irony is that i ended up meeting my GF out of the blue in a diving resort i stayed at upon meeting face to face. I think internet dating is fine as you will know from alot of forum posters here that it can and will find you happiness, but if you are coming here for a relatively decent duration it is not 100% necessary as girls are more approachable here than back in the UK.
As grahamw48 mentions above there will be people with alternative motives out there and pray on your unfortunate situation with your previous wife. Put it this way, alarm bells would ring if a UK girl asks for money off you straight away so why should you make the exception with someone anywhere else?

If you are deciding to head the Phils, before you go there is no harm in making some acquaintances online before hand but don't rely soley on this. How long will your visit to the Phils be? You are still considered 'young' over here and i'm sure you will receive some attention but try not to let it go to your head as some of this attention may be primarily on your status as a foreigner here and your finances alone.

It is very cheap to fly around the islands here at short notice so i recommend just getting a return ticket to Manila and make it up as you go along or even better, by-pass Manila completely (and subsequent frustrations and headaches) and fly into Cebu as they have an international airport connecting to South East Asia. If you are interested in meeting a special someone here, it is good to get a feel of the place and finding out about culture, how everything works around here as you will understand your future special someone far better. Resorts and recreational activities are cheap and even doing some island hopping you will still stand a good chance of meeting someone along the way. So head over with positivity but don't make it your ultimatum to meet someone here on the trip alone. Besides you can still go back to the option of online dating after your visit but with a new perspective!!

Also i advise you to check out the complications and hurdles you may face in the future with Visas and settlements. Not that it should be off-putting, but it's something that essentially has to be understood if you are to go down that road. It would be sad for you to endure yet more heartache.....