Unmarried father seeking guardianship

Hello I am an unmarried father to a 5 yr old girl.Yung nanay po eh nasa abroad (japan)she left when the baby was 6 months old and still in good state pa ang relation namin nun but as the years past unfortunately it did not work out,umuwi po siya for two months recently dito para ayusin ung papel ng bata at nag file po ng visa application,wala pa pong resulta kung approved na ung visa.Payag naman ako na dalhin niya ang bata, ang sakin lamang po ay kung maari na sa akin pa din ang custody ng bata habang wala pang resultang lumalabas kung approved man o hindi. Pero may nadiskubre ako na balak ng mga tiyahain at ng ina na ilayo ang bata sa bulacan at dun na lang antayin ang resulta approved man o hindi without my consent.Mga tiyahin niya ang nakausap ko at ang sabi nila ay sumusunod lang daw sila sa bilin ng ina.As the father of the child should I have legal custody instead of the relatives of the mother?Hoping for your kind response.

in the absence of the mother, you have a better right to custody compared to the other relatives. if they refuse you'll have to negotiate or seek help of the dswd of bgy officials.

you can also file a petition in the family court for custody with request for issuance of a hold departure order.