Advice on custody of illegitimate children

Naghiwalay po kami ng live-in partner/mother ng mga anak ko at gusto ko po sana malaman kung malaki ba ang tiyansa na makuha ko yun custody ng mga anak ko dahil sa mga information na ilalahad ko:

-Currently unemployed po yun ex-partner ko and she was dismissed from work due to using funds unbeknownst to her employer. The employer was going to sue her but I believe she signed an agreement to pay the amount in installment. However that amount comes in a total of several million pesos and on top of that she has loans and owes money to several other people/banks that are coming after her.
She could also state that she's self employed since she she has an online shop if I was to mention of unemployment in court.

-She became a habitual gambler, which started when she became unemployed. She would leave the house every night and would come home the next morning, telling me either she went to the casino with her tita/aunt, or she would say that she was out "naninigil sa mga pinagbentahan ng paninda nya(In the middle of the night o madaling araw??).

Sana po mabigyan nyo ko ng advice. Sinasabi nya kasi na hindi ko raw makukuha yun custody ng mga anak ko dahil di kami kasal. 11 at 8 years old na yun mga daughters ko, nakapangalan sila sa surname ko, and kung yun mga bata ang tatanungin mas gusto nila sumama sa kin kaya lang hindi ko toh magagamit na depensa sa court dahil illegitimate child sila.

it is possible for the court to remove custody of the child from her but it would not be automatically awarded to you since parental custody for illegitimate child belongs solely to the mother. pwedeng sa parents nung babae, mga tito at tita, etc.

mas maganda na maghire ka ng lawyer para matulungan ka sa case mo.

Pwde naman po ninyo makuha ang custody ng mga bata even if illegitimate sila pero mas mahirap para sa side ng ama. Kung mag ffile man kayo ng kaso para sa custody dapat ma-prove ninyo na hindi "fit" ang nanay na alagaan ang mga anak ninyo and eto lang ang mga grounds or reason na pwde ninyo magamit:

-neglect
-abandonment
-unemployment
-immorality
-habitual drunkenness
-drug addiction
-maltreatment of the child
-insanity
-affliction of communicable illness

May specific na edad din na pwde na mamili ang bata kung saan niya gusto sumama. Di ako sigurado pero parang pag lagpas 10 yrs old e pwde na mamili ang bata. Pag ganun e ang battle e sa custody ng 8 yrs old ninyo na anak. Mas maganda talaga kung kumonsulta kayo sa isang abogado para mabigyan kayo ng legal advice.