Twin earthquakes rocked parts of the country on Friday, Christmas Day, causing minor damage in one town in Batangas province.

The first quake struck in Batangas province on the main island of Luzon at a depth of 114 kilometers (70 miles) at 7:43 am local time (2343 GMT), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

In the coastal city of Calatagan, about 90 kilometers south of Manila and near the epicenter, people attending mass remained calm as the earthquake hit, police chief Major Carlo Caceres told AFP.

"There was a pause in the church service, but the people did not panic," Caceres said.

"This area is quake-prone and people are more or less used to them."

There were no reports of damage or casualties in the area, he added.

"The office furniture and equipment swayed, but nothing was broken," said policeman Allan Megano in the nearby town of Balayan.

A second magnitude 5.2 earthquake jolted Davao Occidental also on Friday morning, Christmas Day. The tremor happened at 10 a.m., 95 kilometers southeast of Sarangani town. It was tectonic in origin and had a depth of 111 kilometers, according to state seismologists.

Peter Galvez, spokesman of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, reminded the public to check gas and electrical lines in areas affected by the quakes.

The Philippines 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.

ABS-CBN News Channel, December 25, 2020