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Setting up a Philippine counterpart of the Congressional Research Service of the U.S. Congress would prove to be no easy task. To begin with, CRS was an attached body to the U.S. Congress. In 1987, it had a budget of 60 million dollars and a staff of 800. This itself was difficult to replicate. Secondly, the Philippine Congress already had a huge Secretariat staff providing legislative support services.

So impressed, however, was Dr. Reyes with the CRS and its staff as it provided all necessary information to assist legislators, that the idea of setting up something like it continued to grow in her mind. She returned to De La Salle University, where she resumed teaching as Chair of the Political Science Department. Meanwhile, she continued to pursue the possiblity of establishing an organization that would provide support services for Congress. Optimistically, she discussed and conceptualized the idea into many late nights with brother Emmanuel Leyco, a Public Administration graduate and an Organization Development graduate from Columbia University and Harvard University, respectively. She also brought up the idea with Brother Andrew Gonzalez and other school officials of De La Salle University.