I liked Panglao Island/Alona Beach. I noted that there was live bands and plenty of bars there that are quite active. I was there in May after a month in Malapascua. Malpascua is great diving, but very quite by comparison. Given the amount of material covered in Divemaster, Malapascua might be the better choice... less distractions 
Puerto Galera/Sabang has nightlife of course including a few girlie bars. Panglao Island/Alona Beach is better in my opinion, and no girlie bars that I recall. Alona Beach in some ways reminded me of Boracay, only on a much smaller scale. Better diving in Puerto Galera, but diving from Panglao Island is good too.
Boracay has great nightlife and diving is okay, but diving in other places is better. I was in Boracay last November.
You could also try Subic Bay the area I'm probably most familiar with as I stayed there for a few months this past winter. Olongapo City proper has a really great music scene with live bands and few foreigners. I was often the only foreigner in the club there. SBMA, the old Subic Bay Naval Base has also been developed with lots of great restaurants and places with live music. There is a quite active bar scene in Barrio Baretto with a small strip of girlie bars, regular bars, and karaoke bars. Lots of foreigners there. Some great restaurants. Sit-N-Bull has the best food in the area in my opinion. Stop into the VFW for breakfast. All the resorts in Baloy Long Beach have bars as well. Live bands can be found there too. I like Subiza Music Lounge.
There are plenty of dive operations in the area. Diving in Subic is not the best in the Philippines, but if you're into history and wrecks, you might really like it. Lot of expat retiree's in the area, especially retired Navy and Marines from the old base. I fit right in there and made many friends. Even moved my VFW membership there. I've only been there a handful of days since March though as I've been moving around since then.
You can find dive operations on SBMA, Barrio Baretto, and Baloy Long Beach. These areas are all considered part of Olongapo City but are a little spread out. Between jeepney's and trikes, it's pretty inexpensive to get around between Olongapo City, Barrio Baretto, and Baloy Long Beach. When I first arrived in the area I lived in an apartment in Baloy Long Beach and would sometimes walk to Barrio Baretto. Taxi's on SBMA can be a bit more expensive depending how far you're going. I've never used any of the dive shops on SBMA so can't really speak to them. I've talked to the guys at Arizona in Barrio Baretto and I normally use Johan's in Baloy Long Beach myself when I'm diving in Subic Bay.
I concur with other posters that setting up your DM training ahead of time would be a good idea. High Season has started by late October/early November most places and you will probably need accommodations for at least 4 weeks while you're doing your program. It's a lot of material and work to get through. Just remember that.
I'd also suggest getting a 59 day visa ahead of time, otherwise you will have to report to an immigration office to renew your visa. This would actually be fairly easy in Olongapo also as there is an office there. The others, not so much. From almost any other dive destination it would almost certainly entail an overnight trip either to Manila or Cebu City. Best to get the visa ahead of time if you can.
Just my two pesos worth
Puerto Galera/Sabang has nightlife of course including a few girlie bars. Panglao Island/Alona Beach is better in my opinion, and no girlie bars that I recall. Alona Beach in some ways reminded me of Boracay, only on a much smaller scale. Better diving in Puerto Galera, but diving from Panglao Island is good too.
Boracay has great nightlife and diving is okay, but diving in other places is better. I was in Boracay last November.
You could also try Subic Bay the area I'm probably most familiar with as I stayed there for a few months this past winter. Olongapo City proper has a really great music scene with live bands and few foreigners. I was often the only foreigner in the club there. SBMA, the old Subic Bay Naval Base has also been developed with lots of great restaurants and places with live music. There is a quite active bar scene in Barrio Baretto with a small strip of girlie bars, regular bars, and karaoke bars. Lots of foreigners there. Some great restaurants. Sit-N-Bull has the best food in the area in my opinion. Stop into the VFW for breakfast. All the resorts in Baloy Long Beach have bars as well. Live bands can be found there too. I like Subiza Music Lounge.
There are plenty of dive operations in the area. Diving in Subic is not the best in the Philippines, but if you're into history and wrecks, you might really like it. Lot of expat retiree's in the area, especially retired Navy and Marines from the old base. I fit right in there and made many friends. Even moved my VFW membership there. I've only been there a handful of days since March though as I've been moving around since then.
You can find dive operations on SBMA, Barrio Baretto, and Baloy Long Beach. These areas are all considered part of Olongapo City but are a little spread out. Between jeepney's and trikes, it's pretty inexpensive to get around between Olongapo City, Barrio Baretto, and Baloy Long Beach. When I first arrived in the area I lived in an apartment in Baloy Long Beach and would sometimes walk to Barrio Baretto. Taxi's on SBMA can be a bit more expensive depending how far you're going. I've never used any of the dive shops on SBMA so can't really speak to them. I've talked to the guys at Arizona in Barrio Baretto and I normally use Johan's in Baloy Long Beach myself when I'm diving in Subic Bay.
I concur with other posters that setting up your DM training ahead of time would be a good idea. High Season has started by late October/early November most places and you will probably need accommodations for at least 4 weeks while you're doing your program. It's a lot of material and work to get through. Just remember that.
I'd also suggest getting a 59 day visa ahead of time, otherwise you will have to report to an immigration office to renew your visa. This would actually be fairly easy in Olongapo also as there is an office there. The others, not so much. From almost any other dive destination it would almost certainly entail an overnight trip either to Manila or Cebu City. Best to get the visa ahead of time if you can.
Just my two pesos worth
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