The earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island at 5:18 pm local time (0918 GMT) at a depth of 112 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey. The country's seismology agency said no tsunami warning had been issued.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, Kaiser Cadiz, of the Davao Oriental provincial disaster office, told AFP, calling it a "moderate" quake.

"Our priority now is to monitor the coast to determine if there are indications the water had receded (an indicator of an impending tsunami)," she said, adding that none had been observed so far.