Earthquake shakes northern Philippines

Manila: Life went on as usual in Metro Manila even as a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the country's northernmost island Batanes.

A bulletin from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said an earthquake of tectonic origin occurred in northern Philippines in the morning. No damage was reported but the earthquake was felt in the Batanes' capital Basco, Appari, Cagayan and Ilocos Norte.

Florencio "Butch" Abad, former congressional representative of Batanes, described his experience during the earthquake as "frightening," but not surprising because the island province has a history of being in the path of such movements in the earth's crust.

Batanes is also frequently visited by typhoons and most of the dwellings there are either built of very light materials or of heavy stone that can withstand the force of earthquakes and cyclones.

At the malls in Metro Manila, life went on for Sunday promenaders as if nothing had happened in Batanes, which is around 450 kilometres north of Manila.

The quake took place nearly a month after a devastating earthquake shook the Chinese province of Sichuan where tens of thousands of people died.