The shallow quake struck about 374 kilometres (232 miles) east of the island of Davao, according to USGS.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, which reported the quake at a magnitude of 6.4, said no tsunami alert had been triggered.

Quakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Most are too weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive ones come at random with no technology available to predict when and where they might strike.

The country's last major quake was a magnitude 7 tremor in July 2022 that triggered landslides and ground fissures in the northern province of Abra, killing at least 11 people and injuring 609 others.