MANILA — Despite their past rift, Claudine Barretto came to the defense of her niece, Julia Barretto, in relation to the latter’s unfolding word war with her estranged father, comedian Dennis Padilla.

Claudine, 43, addressed Padilla, 60, through an Instagram post on Sunday, asking him to stop airing his grievances against his own daughter on social media.

“Kuya, tama na!” Claudine wrote in the since-deleted post that included a photo of Padilla. “Tumigil ka na please! Sumusobra ka na! Maawa ka sa mga bata. Please stop! Mag-usap tayo.”

Claudine’s message followed Padilla’s tirade against Julia through successive Instagram posts over the weekend, which he has also since removed.

• 'Ano pa gusto n'yo?': Dennis Padilla reacts to daughter Julia's remarks
• ‘I got tired’: Julia Barretto not ready to forgive dad Dennis Padilla

Padilla was reacting to Julia’s statement in an interview that she is not ready to forgive her father, after “so much pain over the years.”

In his response to Julia, Padilla brought up the fact that he had spent all his earnings to provide a comfortable life for her and her siblings. Aside from Julia, Padilla has two other children with Marjorie Barretto: Claudia and Leon.

Marjorie, Claudine’s older sister, has meanwhile publicly reassured her daughter that she will “protect and never betray” her.

• Marjorie Barretto assures daughter Julia she will protect her

Julia opened up about her relationship her father in an interview with news anchor Karen Davila last week. In the same interview, she expressed optimism about a reconciliation among her mother and her estranged sisters Claudine and Gretchen.

The publicized conflicts within the Barretto clan resulted in Julia also having strained ties with both aunts, with whom she also once had close relationships.

• ‘There’s hope,’ Julia says of reconciliation among Marjorie, Gretchen, Claudine

“Even after things have been said and done, I just feel like the fact that it was painful for each other, it means there was love in the first place,” Julia said in her interview with Davila.

“I feel like there’s hope. If I’m affected, it’s for my mom, because I do know how much love she has for them.”

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