I was about to post something similar.
Having said that we've been to Cebu plenty of times and there's some really nice places.
When you quite familiar with a place you tend to feel more at ease.
You often feel the opposite when you're in unfamiliar places.
In general I certainly feel a lot safer than I did in my hometown. Especially after dark and more especially in the evenings between Thursday and Sunday
I can walk down to the local 'town centre' any time of day or night and I'm not expecting to meet confrontational or challenging situations. Quite different from my UK hometown.
Regardless though, it's wise to be fully aware of your surroundings.