SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.6.earthquake struck near the center of the Philippine archipelago on Saturday, but the Philvolcs seismology agency said the tremor was too deep to raise fears of casualties or damage.

The quake struck shortly after 9 a.m. (0100 GMT). The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) estimated its depth at 540 km (336 miles) under the Bohol Sea, 99 km (62 miles) south of Cebu City. CENC had estimated its magnitude at 6.0.

(This version of the story corrects time in second paragraph to 9 am not pm)