Thinking about liveaboard and land based diving in December

Hi all!
Have never been diving in the Philippines before, so am thinking about doing a liveaboard as well as some land-based diving in the Philippines over Xmas and New Year.

My buddy likes Mantas and coral reefs.
I like sharks and currents.
So we would ideally like to move around and see a mix.

We have had several recommendations, including Bohol, Negros, Malapascua and Anilhao.
I know Anilhao is for small stuff, I heard Malapascua has sharks but I don't know too much about the rest.
Is it the season for whale sharks or mantas at that time?
Which are the best areas for liveaboard tours?

I heard the weather could be very changeable at that time of year, so not sure if it is better to postpone til a different time.

Thanks very much for any help and recommendations you can give.

Tubbataha is the best in the country. But only available for liveaboard between mid Mar and early June.
There are not that many liveaboards available in Dec/Jan or anytime of the year!!! if you are thinking about Tubbataha then you might have to book early.

Atlantis has resorts and a liveaboard. For minimum fuss in transfers between the resort and the boat, going with one company would probably be the best option. Boat would be in the Visayas that time of the year and the resorts are in Puerto Gallera and Dumaguete.

There are not many places in the Philippines where you can see sharks and mantas at this time of the year. Malapascua would be an option which Monad shoal and the cleaning station for Tresher sharks. Another place with some sharks ( mainly white tips) is Apo Reef. You could do a week in Malapascua and than see if you can get on a liveaboard that covers Apo Reef, or you do a week in Malapascua and than a cruise in the Visayas and visit Oslob for the whalesharks.

Having all that said, I would not say that the Philippines is a big fish destination (apart from Tubbataha), its more great corals and some of the best macro diving in the world.