Michael Tan Defensor (Tagalog pronunciation: [dɪfɛnˈsɔɾ], born June 30, 1969) is a Filipino politician who most recently served as the Party-list Representative for Anakalusugan from 2019 to 2022.
Defensor went on to serve various positions in the Arroyo administration: chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Malacañang Chief of Staff.
He finished elementary, Bachelor of Arts in History, and Masters in Public Administration at the University of the Philippines where he became a member of the UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity.
Defensor was part of the Spice Boys of the House of Representatives that spearheaded the filing of the impeachment case against then-president Joseph Estrada.
After Edsa II, Defensor was appointed as Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Defensor is one of the vocal opponents against the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, together with Sagip Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and Cavite Seventh District Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla.
After claiming continuous victory, Defensor inititiated an online forum via Zoom and streamed live on Facebook[10] along with Marcoleta, Remulla, Yedda Romualdez, Journalie Payonan, Danilo Fernandez, Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, Inno Dy and Alfred delos Santos to discuss the fate of ABS-CBN.
[13] Mike Defensor, on July 4, 2008, filed 6-page perjury lawsuit Friday versus Rodolfo Noel Lozada for "testifying under oath that he had paid Lozada ₱50,000 to change his statement that he was not kidnapped at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) when he arrived from Hong Kong at the height of the Philippine National Broadband Network controversy (ZTE Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Company Limited scandal).
"[14] On December 4, 2007, Mike Defensor quietly joined to the board of directors of Petron Corporation with former budget secretary Emilia Boncodin.