There is definitely a language barrier, unless you strictly hang out with upper middle class and above folks. Even then the accent can take a while to get used to, but for just getting around its fine. Just slow down and lower your expectations. Don't be in a hurry or on a tight timeline/schedule and it'll be great!
Another myth perpetuated, the vast majority of Filipinos have terrible english, you have no idea. You really think , they are getting down and dirty, with their own kind, in English?!!, absolutely not.. they are speaking in their local dialect or tagalog, there's over 100 different dialects. No problem, for guys like, me , I can understand the vast majority of Tagalog, and can speak to a conversational level. And it may not always be because they cannot speak it decently. But again you must know the culture. They are extremely embarassed to speak english incorrectly, or grammatically incorrect, it's very common for Filipinos to bully each other from a young age for speaking English incorrectly. So they will not dare have a legitimate conversation with a foreigner, in the case of losing face, unless they are confident in their ability. That's reality, 80-90% will not have a conversation with you, may as well be in Vietnam, or Thailand or wherever, it's no different. Yes you can find some that will speak english though