I feel way safer in Dipolog or Davao than I ever would in Manila lol

Draw a line from Cagayan de Oro to Davao. Stay east (right) of that line and you'll pretty much be fine.

Generally safe. Just avoid the southernmost places (Basilan, Sulu).😉

Gingoog is generally safe, I've been there a few times. Claveria and the towns around Gingoog are safe too, but anything can happen anywhere. I lived in Butuan for a few years and recently moved to CDO, so I know the area pretty well.

You'll see people say certain areas of Mindanao are safe, and others say certain other areas are unsafe. And they'd both be right, to an extent. I lived in Mindanao for a year, in and around Zamboanga City. What I'll tell you is that, like most of the Philippines, if you're Caucasian, especially a tall one, well dressed, wearing or carrying nice things, driving a nice car, or living in a fancy compound, you WILL attract attention. In most of the Philippines that takes the form of scams, petty theft and crime, harassment, and maybe assault (I'm deliberately leaving out the recent violence against foreigners, since I believe it's driven by current world events). But in Mindanao, that same attention can turn into serious assault, kidnapping, ransom and death. It can happen anywhere in the Philippines, but in Mindanao it's a systematic threat with an organization behind it. There's a reason it's a "Restricted" travel area for Indo-Pacific Command and on the US State Department's "Exercise Extreme Caution/Consider Postponing Trip" list. Bad actors know Westerners are a source of income and actively target them. That's a fact, and anyone here denying it falls into the "I visited Mindanao and nothing happened to me, so it's safe" category. Everywhere else, keep your head on a swivel, and if your guy tells you something is off, get out of there. Because outside Davao, if something happens, help takes forever to arrive, if it comes at all. And it's a shame, because Jolo and Tawi-Tawi have some of the best scuba diving spots left in the world. Probably because so few people visit.

I've been to Pagadian and the surrounding areas, up to Dipolog and Dapitan, and never felt unsafe. Next trip is Bukidnon, really excited to visit that area.