MANILA (UPDATE) - One out of three Filipino families escaped poverty in the first quarter of the year, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Friday.

Thirty percent of Filipino families escaped poverty while 12 percent or around one out of eight families fell into poverty, based on the March 23 to 27 SWS survey.

Last month, SWS said the number of Filipinos who considered themselves poor fell to a record low of 42 percent in the first quarter of 2018, down from last quarter's 44 percent.

• Self-rated poverty falls to record low: SWS

Of the 42 percent self-rated poor families, 29 percent fell into the "always poor" category.

Of the remaining 58 percent who consider themselves to be non-poor families, 28 percent have never experienced poverty, SWS said.

Meanwhile, the 30 percent who transitioned out of poverty consists of 18 percent who used to be poor five or more years ago, or those considered "usually non-poor."

Twelve percent, meanwhile, used to be poor one to 4 years ago, or those considered "newly non-poor."

Malacañang on Saturday welcomed the survey results and assured the public that the government, under President Rodrigo Duterte, would continue to work towards poverty alleviation.

"Rest assured that we will continue to reduce inequality, expand economic opportunities, and lay down the foundation of a comfortable life for everyone," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

The survey was done using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide and has sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages.