I lived in Manila for a number of years, still like getting back there for work, and think Filipinos are great people, but I don't think I'd recommend visiting Manila. It's just not as tourist-friendly or walking-friendly as even other large Asian cities, due to the heat, humidity, pollution, lousy state of the sidewalks in some parts of town, etc. And while Manila has a variety of good foreign restaurants, Philippine cuisine is not one of the greatest in the world, with a few exceptions such as pangga (if I'm remembering the spelling correctly), which is the delicious parts of tuna cheeks that you dip in a combination of lime, soy sauce, vinegar and chili.

Having said that, if you do go to Manila an exception to this rule include strolling along Roxas Blvd. (which is by Manila Bay) and catching sunsets from around there. The old, classic Manila Hotel is at one end of it and might be worth a visit. And an old, historic area of town, Intramuros, also could be worth checking out. The combination of these things might be worth a day, but you might be better off just bypassing Manila and getting to a beach.

I'm afraid my info is probably out of date regarding where to go in the country, though Boracay or some other beach would be very nice. And if you want to go to another place, the rice terraces up near Banauwe (which I'm sure I'm spelling wrong) could be worth a visit, though being up north they're in the opposite direction from Boracay and other good beaches.

If you're a seasoned traveler you should be able to manage there fine, but one thing to be aware of is the possibility of taxi rip-offs (not at all unique to the Philipines, of course). Good to get an estimate from your hotel or someone else of how much a trip from A to B should cost.

Another, more serious thing, at least in the past, was the scam of strangers being very friendly (sometimes under the pretext of thinking they'd met you before somewhere), slipping something in your drink to knock you out, then robbing you. Not sure how much this has been going on in recent years.

Having said all that, I get back to the point that Filipinos are wonderful people, always looking for a good laugh. I guess I'd recommend just finding a great beach, be it Boracay or elsewhere, and hanging out there for two weeks.