HERE are some things you might have wanted to ask Sen. Francis Escudero after he bolted the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), his political party of 11 years.

• Only two—okay three—people knew about Chiz Escudero’s decision before he made his announcement. His wife, Christine, was told two days before (which means she is one of the few women in town who could keep a secret), while NPC chairman Faustino Dy was told the night before. It was Dy who broke the news to NPC founder emeritus Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. Even his dad, Sorsogon Rep. Salvador Escudero, learned about his decision at the Club Filipino—just like everybody else.

•  Escudero went to the Club Filipino in his BMW with a driver and an aide, and he left the club with the same guys in the same car. By the way, he bought the secondhand BMW at less than the cost of a brand-new Toyota Vios. And, yes, he has two cars, the other one is a Mercedes-Benz, both of which were made in 1998 (or older), the year he entered politics.

• Escudero has been sleeping very well at night and, at 145 pounds, hasn’t been languishing because of his decision. He also admits to smiling more often these days. At the same time, he admits that he is 99-percent sure of what’s his next step will be, but he needs that extra 1 percent for validation.

• There are two factors that would influence a decision to file his candidacy for president by December 1, the deadline set by the Commission on Elections. One is the money he can raise to mount a convincing campaign (his people are still punching the numbers on how much that magic number is). Two is getting his message across from Day 1 (a major message is that he will not be beholden to party or huge donors for future paybacks).

• He has received feelers to run as vice president from people associated with other political parties, but there have been no formal offers.

• Escudero’s term in the Senate ends in 2013.

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Did you know 1: Although it is ideally located near Binondo, the Chinese restaurant of The Manila Hotel has yet to draw the same lunch crowd as Shangri-La Hotel Makati. Then again, the restaurant does very well for big events like wedding receptions.

            This is a pity, since the food at the Mabuhay Palace is courtesy of a Filipina chef who used to work with the Manila Mandarin Hotel. And, yes, the murals on the walls are personal choice of hotel owner, Emilio Yap.

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Did you know 2: There’s a summit until today that espouses mandatory nursery education nationwide.

            Studies show there are two major factors that influence a young child’s learning process. The first factor is the primary caregiver, which could be the mother or the yaya. At the very least, the primary caregiver must have a high-school diploma to give the child that learning edge.

            The second factor is family income. Not surprisingly, the higher the family’s income, the better the child achievement performance, in large part because the child in a comfortably placed family is more likely to be exposed to more external stimuli.

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Did you know 2: Not all “less fat” or “lite” products being sold in supermarkets are healthy. To make sure, check the label and make sure the total fat content is less than 30 percent and that saturated fat (read: the bad fat) is less than 10 percent. Oh, yes, the label usually talks about per serving, not eating the whole hog. On average, office workers and all those who don’t do manual work need only 2,000 calories a day.