LEGAZPI CITY, Albay: Thousands are expected to attend a protest action here to express outrage over the disqualification of the Ako Bicol Party-list (Ako Bicol).

The said indignation rally, originally scheduled today, has been moved to Thursday after groups from other provinces pledged to mobilize additional participants, according to a source.

The rally was set in response to Comelec Chairperson Sixto Brillantes’ assertion that Ako Bicol should be dropped from the roster of accredited party-lists for next year’s polls.

A lawyer, who requested anonymity, opined that the Comelec commissioners who ruled to disqualify Ako Bicol could be impeached.

The lawyer said the Comelec resolution containing the said decision to disqualify the cited party-list group reflects a clear case of flip-flopping.

Meanwhile, Bicolano lawmakers have expressed support for the embattled party-list group.

Senators Francis Escudero and Gringo Honasan criticized the Comelec resolution, saying that Ako Bicol deserves accreditation since it is a performing party-list group.

Ako Bicol is represented by businessman Christopher Co and lawyers Alfredo Garbin and Rodel Batocabe.

Gov. Joey Salceda, moreover, called the Comelec resolution against Ako Bicol unfair to Bicolanos and the group’s constituents.

The governor cited that Ako Bicol was proclaimed by the Comelec in the 2010 party-list election as the “topnotcher”, garnering the most number of votes cast for the party-list system.

He found it peculiar that Ako Bicol became the subject of the Comelec’s purging effort.

Three Albay lawmakers – Reps. Edcel Lagman, Fernando Gonzales, and Al Francis Bichara – also condemned the Comelec resolution.

Former Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, who is running unopposed in next year’s elections, said several groups convinced him to stage a protest rally against Ako Bicol’s expulsion.

He claimed that Ako Bicol’s disqualification was an “injustice”.

“We have initially estimate a crowd of 10,000 to participate in today’s originally scheduled rally but since it has been reset on Thursday, we could only expect a bigger crowd coming from other Bicol provinces,” said Rosal.

Earlier, Garbin said that the Comelec should purge instead bogus party-list groups who have no defined constituencies and track record.

“Ours is a performing party-list group,” he said.

Meanwhile, Batocabe, in a radio interview, said the people should be the ones to decide whether Ako Bicol should be expelled from the party-list system through the conduct of next year’s elections.

“Why can’t Comelec wait until after the next year election with its boasted modern polling system?” asked Batocabe.

“We are not fighting for ourselves as nominees. We are fighting for the name Ako Bicol and its millions of constituents who planted us in congress to represent their interests,” the lawmaker said.

He added that they are bringing their case to the Supreme Court.

Batocabe, who is serving as spokesman of Ako Bicol, blamed certain militant groups like the fisher folk organization, Pamalakaya, for spearheading the disqualification campaign against Ako Bicol.

He, moreover, explained that the Supreme Court had already ruled that party-list nominees do not need to be poor as long as he or she advocates the interests of marginalized and underprivileged sectors.

“We may not be poor party-list lawmakers but our performance will speak for itself that we are with the poor tried and tested serving their interests better than those professing to be poor without the track record,” said the Bicolano lawmaker.