As they say, blood is thicker than water.

Seemingly proving this is actress Claudine Barretto who, for weeks now, has reportedly been lashing out at Angelica Panganiban—all because of her elder sister Gretchen Barretto.

Angelica recently smoked the peace pipe with Gretchen, with whom she had a rift. Months ago, the two actresses traded barbs. Fortunately, the spat ended on a happy note when Angelica, with all humility, apologized to Gretchen in one episode of “The Buzz”. The apology was well received by Tonyboy Cojuangco’s partner, who now considers her a friend.

For the past weeks, Claudine and Angelica have been reportedly exchanging barbs through text.

“Hindi malinaw kung ano ang puno’t dulo ng biglang pagsiklab ng away between Claudine and Angelica. Basta ayon sa usap-usapang kuwentong nakarating na rin sa amin, may nanggatong daw na pag-awayin ang dalawa,” Ruben Marasigan wrote on his “Rubbing Elbows” column on Pinoy Parazzi, Aug. 18.

“Si Claudine daw, kaagad-agad daw naman diumanong naniwala sa mga sulsol at maling parating sa kanya. Hanggang sa nanggalaiti na raw sa galit at nagsimulang away-awayin na si Angelica through text. Kalaunan, tumatawag-tawag na rin daw diumano itong si Claudine para awayin at taray-tarayan daw si Angelica. Naloloka naman daw ang huli na napu-provoke ding makipagsagutan na. Hanggang sa hindi na diumano kinakaya nitong si Angelica ang ginagawang pang-aaway sa kanya ni Claudine through cellphone text and calls. Nag-decide umano ang dalaga na magpalit na lang ng number,” Ruben added.

Ogie Diaz, on his “Kamtutingkopit!” column in Balita, which came out Aug. 18, also reported about Claudine and Angelica’s “war of the roses.”

“Sinabihan daw ni Claudine si Angel ng, “Hindi ka nakapag-aral, kaya ***tutin ka lang ni Derek!”

A source shared with Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online what caused the explosive war between the two actresses.

Some weeks ago ---before Angelica’s public apology to Gretchen--- Angelica and Claudine attended a non-showbiz party with their respective partners, Derek Ramsay and Raymart Santiago, respectively. The birthday celebrant was Martin Castro, a common friend of Derek and Raymart.

As the night progressed, Angelica, having drunk one too many, is said to have become very loquacious. She reportedly told Claudine how her sister Gretchen was very accommodating to her boyfriend [Derek] during their “Magkaribal” tapings. Angelica reportedly shared that Gretchen was a generous soul, giving gifts to her beau even without occasion. Although Angelica did not reveal what the gifts were, it was speculated that one of the gifts could be Derek’s Hermes belt.

Claudine, although still not on speaking terms with her sister, tried her best to pacify Angelica from revealing more. She tried to stop the actress from causing more scandal because she felt it was unfair to her sister who was not there to defend herself. Claudine was so embarrassed by Angelica’s outburst because most the guests were not from show business.

But Angelica would hear none of it.

Raymart, reportedly incensed, intervened and asked Angelica to calm down. Later, a heated argument ensued between Derek and Raymart. Had not cooler heads intervened, the two guys could have ended up in a brawl.

Since then, Claudine had reportedly started harassing Angelica through her cellphone. And when Derek’s girlfriend changed numbers, Raymart’s wife reportedly took to Twitter to spite Angelica.

As per Ruben Marasigan’s column, Claudine reportedly took a swipe at Angel’s bankability as a soap actress.

“Grabe raw talaga ang mga patutsada niya sa seksing young actress gaya diumano ng – ‘kung hindi pa ko umalis sa ABS-CBN hindi ka siguro mabibigyan ng sariling seryeng pagbibidahan,’” Ruben wrote. To which Angelica reportedly harked back, “‘hindi naman daw nagri-rate ang drama anthology ni Claudine sa GMA-7.’”

Claudine and Angelica worked together on “Iisa Pa Lamang,” an ABS-CBN soap where they played warring young ladies. The soap was Claudine’s last for ABS-CBN. Two years after it aired, Claudine moved to the Kapuso network.