MANILA, Philippines—Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay has ordered the early release of year-end bonuses worth P217 million to help in the calamity and holiday expenses of city government employees.

"We all know how hard it is to cope with rising costs of consumer goods and services nowadays, especially when the Christmas season approaches. This is our way of making sure that our employees will still have a joyful celebration with their respective families this Christmas," Binay said in a statement.

Binay said some employees and their families were affected by Tropical Storms "Ondoy" and "Pepeng."

City Personnel Officer Vissia Marie Aldon said the city government is set to release P217 million in bonuses for its more or less 8,300 regular, casual, and contractual employees.

The release of bonuses started on Friday, which included the 13th month pay, fringe benefits (almost equal to a month's salary), cash gift and incentive allowance.

Aldon said the lowest-ranking casual employee will receive at least P21,718.

On the other hand, the lowest-ranking regular employees will receive P20,826, a little less than the amount received by their casual counterparts because they were given half of their 13th month pay last June to defray enrollment costs.