In September 2026, the diving community turned its focus to the Philippines for the first Puerto Galera Shootout, an international underwater photography competition organised by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in cooperation with DOT MIMAROPA and the Municipality of Puerto Galera. Hosted at Lalaguna Villas Luxury Dive Resort and Spa, the inaugural competition challenged participating photographers to capture the dramatic contrast between the region’s world-class macro sites and the famed wide-angle scenes of the Verde Island Passage, widely recognised as the “centre of the centre” of marine biodiversity.
The shootout brought together 45 underwater photographers representing 13 countries, with an internationally respected judging panel – South Korea’s Jerome Kim, Singapore’s Aaron Wong, and Scott “Gutsy” Tuason from the Philippines – evaluating entries captured throughout the five-day event. The competition featured four main categories: Macro, Marine Behaviour, Nudibranch, and Wide Angle. Participants entered their images in either the Compact Class or the Open Class, with the different classes designed to allow shooters with compact cameras and those with larger, more capable cameras to compete separately.
The organisers crowned a “Best of Show” winner in each class: Ronilo Corpuz, for his winning shot in the Macro (Open Class) category; and James Magsino, for his winning photo in the Marine Behaviour (Compact Class) category. PJ Aristorenas was also honoured for capturing the top images in both the Turtle and Cephalopod special categories.
Macro
Open Class
Compact Class
Wide Angle
Open Class
Compact Class
Nudibranch
Open Class
Compact Class
Marine Behaviour
Open Class
Compact Class
Special Categories
Cephalopod
Turtle
- Official Dive Resort Partner: Lalaguna Villas Luxury Dive Resort & Spa
- Sponsors: Scandi Divers, Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards
- Official Media Partner: Underwater360
