A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the Philippines after he allegedly decapitated a woman and then ate her brain.

Lloyd Bagtong, 21, was arrested Thursday on the island of Mindanao after the unidentified woman's partially clothed remains were found around two and a half miles from his home.

Bagtong allegedly told police that he was drunk and hungry when the woman tried to speak to him in the early morning in English, which he didn't understand.

Lloyd Bagtong, 21, has been arrested in the Philippines after allegedly decapitating a woman and eating her brain as a rice topping

'This probably irritated [Bagtong],' Captain Maribeth Ramoga told the Straits Times.

Witnesses said they saw Bagtong, who is unemployed, walking with the woman close to the spot where her body was found.

They suspect he killed and decapitated her at the scene using a large machete that was found tucked into his waistband, then used a piece of cloth to carry the head back to his home.

Bagtong allegedly told police that he cooked some rice before putting the woman's brains on top and eating them.

He then threw her skull in a hole close to his house.

Police say the woman had spoke to Bagtong in English, which likely irritated him, before he killed and dismembered her in the village of Talisayan, on Mindanao island (file image)

Officers say the woman's body was found topless, wearing only jeans on her lower body, and with her hands tied.

Bagtong, who is unemployed, is now in police custody and has been sent for psychiatric evaluation.

Police said they have recovered the woman's skull from his property, along with a piece of bloody cloth they believe was used to carry it there.

They are still working to identify the woman. Police have urged those with missing relatives or loved ones to contact them.