The tit-for-tat between City Mayor Dan Neri Lim and lawyer Victor de la Serna, now becoming a full blown word war, is attracting a new player adding his resonant voice in the fracas. The entry of Mr. Expose into the fray definitely added more fire to the conflagration as he contributed his two-cent worth in order that his voice can be counted as a concerned taxpayer. Former City Councilor Zenaido Rama, a one-time friend of Mayor Lim and now becoming a mortal enemy, said a pending case involving the city mayor should be amended to include the revelation of de la Serna that he personally benefited from the ROT deal of the Tagbilaran City Square and the city government. Per de la Serna’s accusation, Lim is getting a P 1 million bribe from the management of the city square. Rama, one of the original signatories of the lawsuits against the city government and Mayor Lim questioning the Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer (ROT) contract of the City Square (formerly Agora Public Market), issued this statement after learning that one of the consortium's private investors is willing to "spill the beans" regarding supposed "irregularities" of the contract.

For quite some time now, it has been in the local media that the three main investors of the consortium are at odds with each other, hinting at millions worth of "under the table deals" with City Hall. Only recently, dela Serna, a topnotch lawyer, publicly divulged a private conversation with City Square investor and executive Go Beng Sum, that he has been making "secret payoffs" to the city mayor apart from the annual rental due to the city government under the ROT. If true, said "payoffs" amounting at least P1-million per month is much bigger than the yearly rental remitted by the consortium to the city, Rama said. Businessman Go (Beng Ko) apparently agreed to execute a sworn statement "at the proper time" regarding said "payoffs" as disclosed by Dela Serna. With this development, Rama called on Go to hire his own private lawyer if he wishes to repudiate his previous position in the case that are still pending at the RTC and the Office of the Ombudsman. It is a welcome development if Go will help us in exposing the anomalies of the said 'Agora deal' which must be given closure in our courts of law," Rama stressed.

Rama added that this new turn of events could pave the way for a re-negotiation of the ROT contract so that the city government will receive its rightful share instead of the bulk of the rental going to private pockets. Rama believes there are no legal impediments for the re-negotiation of the contract. The city and the private investor can re-open negotiations on the basis of prevailing rental rates of properties within close proximity to the former Agora Public Market and in consideration of escalating rates within the 25-year duration of the contract, Rama offered. The former city lawmaker argued that both parties will benefit from a new deal that is advantageous to the city and the investor, a more viable option to what could be a long-drawn trial that affects the operations of the commercial complex. Rama disclosed that even the three lawyers who are co-complainants of the class suit are open to a re-negotiated contract to eliminate public perception that the ROT was a "rotten deal" between City Mayor Lim and the private investors.

"The latest revelations of Go only proves that there were 'shadowy considerations' to the contract which only guarantees P5-million annually in favor of the city while the earning potential of the commercial estate is much higher, Rama said. "A higher rental reflecting fair and prevailing rates with a provision for projected adjustments based on annual escalation of revenues would settle the issue," Rama stressed. On November 2008, just months before the City Square began operations, Rama together with lawyers Dela Serna, Alexander Lim and Zotico Ochavillo, filed the class suit petitioning the court for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction to stop the private consortium from opening the newly completed commercial complex. Representing the people of Tagbilaran, the complainants said the ROT contract is "grossly disadvantageous" to the city.

A criminal case was likewise filed by the complainants at the Ombudsman Visayas against Mayor Lim for supposed violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. During the entire 25-year lifespan, the consortium will pay the city government at the rate of P30 per square meter as rental to the 7,000 square meter property. The private developers lease their stalls to renters at P600 per square meter for the first floor, P400 for the second floor and P300 for the third floor. Based on the complainants' computations, the total rentable area of 3,000 square meters (from the first to third floors) could generate a minimum income of over P80-million a year, of which only 20% will be remitted to the city government as rental, or a yearly guarantee of P5-million when revenues from operations fall short of the projected income. Stall rentals are just part of the overall revenue which include parking fees charged on the business center's customers. The old Agora Public Market underwent reconstruction after it had been razed down by fire in the mid-1990s but stood unfinished for almost a decade due to funding limitations. Mayor Lim offered the unfinished structure to private investors under the ROT-scheme in 2007. However, the lack of transparency in the bidding and negotiation of the contract spurred public criticism which later led to the filing of the cases.