A Timaru man arrested in the Philippines on child rape and human trafficking charges is back in prison, a Filipino news service has reported.

David William Wakefield, 52, who has a history of sexual offending, was arrested as he checked out of his hotel in Davao on October 25.

He was accused of raping two girls, aged 12 and 13, and also of violating human trafficking laws.

Wakefield was previously convicted of sexually abusing a girl, 7, in Darwin between late 1996 and early 1998, and sexual grooming of a girl, aged 11, in 2007.

News website Balita Pinoy yesterday reported he was back in jail, having been freed earlier this month and given 10 days to submit a counter-affidavit.

A "technicality" in the complaint laid against him had allowed for the temporary release.

It is not known when Wakefield will next appear in court.

Wakefield was freed from prison in Australia in February and lived in Timaru for a short time before moving on.

He was working as a contractor for a South African oil company in Mozambique at the time of his arrest. He is understood to be a dual holder of New Zealand and British passports.

The New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry has confirmed that staff at the New Zealand embassy in Manila were providing consular advice to Wakefield.

- © Fairfax NZ News