I recently made a mistake and bought a one-way ticket to manila. I was thinking of buying a cheap ticket to thailand (manila to bangkok, roundtrip) just so would not get in trouble (and can have time to fix my paperwork in manila) but someone just told me that I have to have a return ticket to the states (because I am an American citizen) not just in asia then back again to the phils.

what do i do? should I get an open ticket out of the Phils? Where do I get those?Im a bit confused

Generally speaking, you must have proof of onward travel at time of arrival. Check specific requirements here: http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/index.jsp