A magnitude-5.9 earthquake has struck the Philippines, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has said.

This was the strongest quake in a series of three earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 to 5.9 to hit  Batangas in the Luzon province, about 55 miles (90km) south of Manila, around 3pm local time or 7am GMT.

The USGS said the quakes occurred over a period of about 20 minutes.

Head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Renato Solidum  said the event was an "earthquake swarm" in a local faultline but had not been powerful enough to cause a tsunami.

There are no information on casualties or destructions as a result of earthquakes.