December is the busiest time in the Philippines (all Filipinos seem to find their way home at this time of the year), and I think avoiding Manila is a good idea - specially if you are thinking of traveling closer to Christmas. I think Cathay Pacific still has direct flights from HKG to Cebu. Not sure about the schedule. United flies to HKG directly from SFO or ORD daily (I think), so you might be able to go to CEB directly w/o using Cebu Pacific (there might be some baggage issues if your bags are not checked through directly from your original destination).