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According to Lt. Col. Dodjie Belloga Jr., commander of the Armyâ€™s 47th Infantry Battalion, the encounter occurred at 7 a.m. when a composite team from the military and police pursued the bandits after accounts of their presence were reported to authorities.

Based on the intelligence report received by Belloga, at least 10 armed men on board three large bancas passed through a creek in Barangay Napo and Canmlinte at past 7 p.m. on Monday.

The gun battle between the governmentâ€™s security forces and the unidentified group continued and no reports on casualties have been released as of press time.

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Meanwhile, authorities are having difficulty in communicating with police and army troops who are engaged in the firefight due to lack of signal in the area.

Following the clash, the police has ordered its personnel throughout municipalities in the province to further tighten security in coastal areas. (Allen Doydora)