Alves, JoséAlves, Paulo2026-04-142026-04-142026-04-01990d7182-7ac0-4a7b-957c-9f15265c8936http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/57506In response to Seixas (2026), we endorse prospective protocol publication as a core mechanism for transparency and accountability in evidence synthesis. We argue, however, that persistently low uptake reflects not only cultural and educational gaps but also structural disincentives: the financial burden of APCs and the bibliometric “citation penalty” that discourages journals from hosting protocols. Drawing on the Portuguese/Southern European context, we highlight the strategic role of diamond open access journals in sustaining protocol publication where APC-based models create inequities. We propose actionable pathways to normalize protocol publication, including earmarked funder support for protocol costs, metric reforms that avoid penalizing protocols, a pragmatic complementarity between registry-based and journal-based protocols, and investment in diamond OA infrastructure. Aligning funding, evaluation, and editorial incentives is essential to move protocol publication from normative ideal to routine practice.engEvidence synthesisReview protocolTransparencyFree science publishingResearch integrityletter to the editor10.62741/ahrj.v3iSuppl.141