Non-Construction of House by the Developer

Hello and good day,
I just want to seek legal advice about my situation. I bought a residential property in Bacolod last August 2010 (pre-selling) and signed a contract with a developer (CxxxxxxAND). I paid 200k cash as Downpayment (20%) because they promised ill get 20k discount if i do so. They also promised verbally and it is also written in the contract that they will start the construction of the house after 3-4mos of paying my monthly amortization. So we issued 12 postdated checks to them hoping that they will honor the contract. Alas, 7 mos have passed, weve been paying religiously without delay but still no construction was done, the lot is still VACANT with uncut grasses.

My questions are:
1. what legal action can we do next?
2. Can we get a refund? For how long are we gonna pay monthly amortization until we can get 100% refund?
3. Are we covered by PD 957 and BP 220 law?

pls help me attorneys, your replies will be highly appreciated.

start with a demand letter and negotiate with them. if nothing happens your remedy is to file complaint at the HLURB

thanks for the prompt reply attyLLL. Will do so next month.

followup question: is it ok to consult a lawyer while negotiating with them and will i require the services of a lawyer in making a demand letter?

thanks in advance sir, im glad i found this website. Its truly helpful for people like us outside of the country.

there are many samples of demand letters on the internet. the basic is to establish the rule, how they violated it and your demand. if you can do that without a lawyer, then one is not needed, though i would always recommend that you have one.