No not similar , a worl apart, perhaps go to Google images and you can see or look on Youtube, Palawan and Phuket are very different ideed, Phuket is very developed with lots of hotels and resorts, some beaches are quieter but busy resorts have lots of restaurants, bars and the island is just wholly way more built up and developed than Palawan. So if you want a lively busy island with nightlife shopping etc then Phuket would suit.
So depends what you are looking for ?
It is going to be a journey probably flight back to Manila then from there via Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, or Hong Kong.