I must be missing this anger. I think JP was just asking if it set a precedence for all expats....which I think people then gave their opinion to the question. (I don't think that Lenny did the caplock to yell either, I suspect the key was pushed on accident from someone who doesn't look at the screen while they type I have been wrong before though.)
Do unto others what you would want to be done unto you.. This deed of yours i am sure will come back to you, it might not be the same way (others paying for your fare) but in some other way.. In my case, i usually travel with my son so I choose an empty tricycle cab and pay for the invisible passengers..
There are good and bad locals and foreigners. If we do a kind deed we will be rewarded with a smile or a thank you, then you know that you have made someone happy. If they disrespect you, ignore them as they are too ignorant to understand your sentiment. We cannot tell anybody if they should or should not give charity, in whatever form, that is our freedom. Before we judge how locals treat us, we should look at ourselves first, as we all have faults. We only have one life, so make the best of it.
An alternative take: The other passengers think "Hey, we moved away from this smelly foreigner & then he paid our fare - Bargain!" [Newton's principle of action has = opposite reaction?] Haha. Seriously though. Sure, spread a little happiness... Live life - love life.x
ha ha ha ha, looks like I struck a nerve there, ha ha ha ha ha. Maybe I will send you a full years supply.........lol.......the instructions will be included........
i also do what you are doing ..in fact when my asawa and i travel from sibulan to duma via easy ride i pay 2 fares to sit in the front seat..i am an extra large and taller than almost all philipinos and cant set up straight in the back..one day i am going to pay for the whole easy ride..a cost of about 150 pesos..just for good relationship with my hosts( native pinoys)