2 dead, buildings damaged in Central Mindanao tremor

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Central Mindanao early Monday, June 8, 2026, leaving a trail of damaged buildings and claiming two lives. The tremor, which lasted nearly two minutes, was most intensely felt in General Santos City, part of Region 12, but its effects rippled across the Zamboanga peninsula (Region 9), Regions 11, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In Tupi, South Cotabato, two residents died due to the earthquake. One person was struck by falling debris from a collapsed concrete structure, while another suffered a fatal cardiac arrest during the shaking, according to Rolly Aquino, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in South Cotabato. Dozens of buildings in General Santos City and surrounding areas in South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces sustained damage.

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Another died of cardiac arrest while the ground was shaking.

Authorities responded swiftly to the disaster. Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao suspended all classes across his jurisdiction. BARMM Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua dispatched engineers to assess potential damage to the Bangsamoro regional capitol and temporarily closed government offices. In Tawi-Tawi, Governor Yshmael Sali closed all schools as a precautionary measure following a tsunami alert issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Soldiers from the Army's 10th Infantry Division were deployed to assist local government units in disaster response. They joined emergency responders and police in clearing debris from damaged structures, including the KCC mall in General Santos City. The earthquake also triggered a significant landslide, with an estimated 20,000 tons of soil and rocks cascading from a hillside near Lake Holon in T'boli town, South Cotabato.

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All offices in our regional government center were closed temporarily too. Our emergency response agencies are all operating, ready to respond to emergencies.