Cebu Pacific has grounded several flights to and from General Santos City after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao on Monday morning, June 8, killing at least 15 people and toppling buildings across the Soccsksargen region.
In an advisory issued at 1 p.m., the airline said six flight pairs scheduled for the day were cancelled because of the quake’s effect on operations. These cover the Cebu–General Santos route (5J 249/250), three Manila–General Santos round trips (5J 991/992, 993/994 and 995/996), a one-way General Santos–Manila leg (5J 998), and the Iloilo–General Santos service (5J 4843/4844). Affected passengers, the airline said, were notified by email and offered free rebooking or rerouting, a travel fund credited to a virtual wallet, or a full refund through the Manage Booking portal. The carrier described the situation as developing and advised travelers to monitor flight statuses on its website.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded the tremor at 7:37 a.m. off Sarangani province, initially measuring it at magnitude 7.0 before revising the figure upward to 7.8. The United States Geological Survey placed the magnitude at 7.8 as well, while Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency registered it at 8.2. Phivolcs logged 138 aftershocks by 11 a.m., the strongest reaching magnitude 6.7, and warned of tsunami waves exceeding one meter above normal tides.
Regional civil defense director Rodrigo Sosmena told Agence France-Presse that 12 people were killed and 129 injured in Soccsksargen, with three more deaths recorded in Davao Occidental. General Santos, a city of roughly 722,000, bore some of the worst damage. According to Al Jazeera, police spokesperson Master Sergeant Robert Dagun said parts of St. Elizabeth Hospital were so badly damaged that patients and staff had to be evacuated. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that a three-story commercial building housing a Jollibee outlet and a Love Radio station collapsed, and that portions of SM City General Santos and a structure at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University also sustained heavy damage.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended classes in affected areas of Mindanao on what was meant to be the first day of the school year and urged residents along the coast to leave immediately. “Move to higher ground now. Do not wait,” he said.
