magnitude earthquake hit parts of southern Philippines a day after Christmas, state seismologists said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Saturday that the earthquake happened at 1:09 P.M. Its epicenter was traced at 54 kilometers northeast of Mati City in Davao Oriental and had a shallow depth of 49 kilometers from the ground. The earthquake was felt at Intensity II in Davao City. In an earthquake bulletin, Phivolcs officials in Manila said it was not expecting the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, to cause damage in the affected areas. More than an hour later, another earthquake rocked nearby General Santos City, local Phivolcs officials were quoted as saying in a radio report. Details of the second quake was not immediately available even as the Phivolcs headquarters in Manila said it has yet to get reports about it. Phivolcs also has yet to determine if the second jolt was an aftershock of the first quake.
