A New Zealander has been arrested in the Philippines accused of raping two teenage girls in Davao City.

David William Wakefield, 50, was arrested after several days of surveillance, the Sun Star newspaper quoted Kidapawan City police director Superintendent Renante Cabico as saying.

He was already on a watch list and had visited the country three times before.

Wakefield was reported as working as an assistant manager of a Mozambique company.

Supt Cabico said the girls from Kidapawan, aged 12 and 13, told police they were hired by two women at a public market, and were taken to a hotel room, where they were molested one after another.

"What made the experiences of the girls more traumatic was that when we had them checked in a hospital in Davao City, both were positive of a sexually transmitted disease, allegedly coming from the suspect," Supt Cabico said.

Wakefield was about to check out from his hotel and travel back to South Africa when police raided his room. Police recovered a mobile phone containing nude photos of the two girls.