I did my PADI OW with a PADI 5-star shop on Coron. My first dive after qualifying was a wreck penetration at 28 metres: when I got on the boat, I thought I'd go down to the wreck and take a look at the top, and it wasn't until the dive briefing that I understood the plan. I argued with the guy who ran the shop - who was American, not local - that it wasn't safe (too deep and overhead), and in the end we settled on a dedicated DM. He was a complete macho dick about it, as well. "You can always sit out the dive," was his line.
The dedicated DM came in very handy, as it was pitch black - it felt like a pretty tight penetration (through the prop shaft, down a corridor), though obviously I was a very new diver - and I almost lost the DM at one point when he went up and I almost continued down the corridor. He was waiting for me, but it could have been hairy if I'd gone on because there wasn't space to turn around. Obviously, I only had one torch, and that was a little, crappy one. And, no, of course there was no line. And, of course, it was single tank, on air.
Another newish diver, also qualified with that shop, was following a group of two plus DM (no DM at the back) through a tight tunnel when he got a fin in his face and lost both mask and reg in the dark. He managed to fix it, but said it was hairy. I finished the dive with nothing worse than mask squeeze and a sinus headache, but with hindsight it was insanely dangerous.
I am AMAZED we don't hear of more deaths in Coron. Dive practices are incredibly unsafe and many of the divers don't know what they don't know. This was, at that point, the best-regarded shop on the island: a 5-star with decent quality equipment, etc. But they all do it, and if you won't do it, I guess you don't get the business, because people go for the wrecks, and they're pretty deep. RIP.
