Ernesto S. Mata (7 November 1915 – March 2012) was a Filipino General and the 15th Secretary of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines, serving in that capacity from 21 January 1967 to 3 February 1970. Mata was also a former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, the only retired officer to be recalled to active duty to occupy this position. In February 2012, just before his death, he was acknowledged to be the only known living graduate of the Philippine Constabulary Academy, which was later renamed the Philippine Military Academy in 1935.