The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 4:47 am (2047 GMT), 125 kilometres (78 miles) west of Negros island, at a depth of 19 kilometres.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake struck in the Sulu Sea 93 kilometres southwest of Dumaguete City, one of the major cities on Negros.
Authorities were confident the quake caused no damage, according to Nazario Caro, a duty officer with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on the neighbouring island of Panay.
"We did not issue any tsunami alert. We have checked the nearby areas and we did not get any reports of damage or casualties," Caro told AFP by telephone.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire -- a belt around the Pacific Ocean dotted by active volcanoes and tectonic trenches, where frequent eruptions and earthquakes take place.
