Despite their history, Claudine Barretto defended her niece Julia Barretto in the midst of a verbal spat with her estranged father, comedian Dennis Padilla.

Claudine, 43, addressed Padilla, 60, in an Instagram post on Sunday, urging him to quit exposing his issues against his own daughter on social media.

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

Claudine’s comment came after Padilla’s outburst against Julia on Instagram over the weekend, which he has since erased.

Padilla was responding to Julia’s interview comment that she isn’t ready to forgive her father after “so much pain over the years.”

Padilla mentioned in his letter to Julia that he had spent all of his profits to establish a good life for her and her siblings. Padilla has two more children with Marjorie Barretto, Claudia, and Leon, in addition to Julia.

In the meantime, Claudine’s older sister, Marjorie, has publicly guaranteed her daughter that she will “protect and never betray” her.

In an interview with TV reporter Karen Davila last week, Julia discussed her connection with her father. She expressed hope for peace between her mother and her estranged sisters, Claudine and Gretchen, in the same interview.

Julia’s links with both aunts, with whom she had formerly had a strong relationship, were damaged as a result of the reported fights within the Barretto dynasty.

“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 explained to 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.”